How to Save a Life
by whysosiriusblack45
Summary: I'm your average teenage fan girl with an extremely huge crush on a fictional character. Then I fell into middle earth, in the company of said fictional character. One problem; he dies at the end of the book. Can I save his life? Warning: total Mary sue
1. Don't Call Me a Lady, Sir

Chapter One

I was your average teenager. Loved texting my friends, loved to watch movies and read books, loved to hang out. Then something big happened. This big thing that happened might suck for a lot of people, but for me it was a dream come true. I don't know how it happened, and I never want to reverse it. I want to stay here forever.

It started on a normal Saturday night. I finished my homework, I fought with my parents, I watched a movie, and then I went to bed. Which is why I was surprised to wake up with a hobbit inches from my face. I let out a scream, and the hobbit jumped back in surprise. My head gave a nasty throb when I tried to sit up, and gave another throb when the hobbit began yelling to who I could only assume was his companion.

"Oi! Aragorn! She's awake!"

Aragorn? Wait a second, he didn't mean-

But at just that moment, Viggo Mortensen walked up to me. My mouth fell open in shock. I was in the presence of _the _Aragorn_._ I blinked and looked around. I was lying against a tree in the middle of a forest, with a hobbit and Viggo Mortensen standing three feet from me. What the heck was going on? This was a dream, I mean it had to be! How on Middle Earth could this be real? Im just sleeping. Except you don't really feel pain in dreams right? Well, my head hurt and something cold and hard was pressing into my lower back.

"Ah, you finally awake, I see," said Aragorn. He was talking to me, I realized.

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked as my head began to pound again. "Wait…. Am I on Middle Earth?"

"Where else would you be?" he said. My head spun. I was on Middle Earth? Oh. My. God. This is the coolest thing ever!!! I looked at the hobbit again. Suddenly I recognized him.

"Pippin!?" I said incredulously. He looked extremely confused and slightly scared. Then again I would be too if a random girl I had found on the ground knew my name.

"How do you know my name, miss?" he asked. Oh crap. I probably just blew my cover if I wanted to try to blend in here.

"Umm… I don't know, you just looked like a Pippin to me. Is that your name?" I asked, trying my best to act as though I really didn't know his name.

"Yes, in fact it is," he said. I don't think he believed me. I tried to stand up, but my head gave another particularly nasty throb and I began to fall. Suddenly, two strong arms caught me. I looked up and saw Aragorn steadying me. Oh. My. God. _Aragorn _had kept _me_ from falling! This day was just getting better and better! The fan girl inside me was jumping for joy!

"Thanks," I said, steadying myself. I brushed dirt off my pants, and then I saw out of the corner of my eye, a shiny black object lying on the ground underneath the tree I had fallen from. I turned to look at it.

It was my gun.

My dad was a government agent and saw to it necessary that I always slept with a gun under my pillow so nothing bad could get me. It must have come with me when I somehow fell into Middle Earth. Neither Aragorn nor Pippin had noticed it, so I quickly grabbed it and shoved it into my pajama pants pocket, which was actually quite a roomy pocket. I turned my attention back to Aragorn and Pippin who hadn't noticed a thing.

"Now, what's going on? What happened to me?"

"From the looks of it, you fell off that tree," said Aragorn. "You were lying on the ground when Pippin found you. He came and got me, and then you woke up just now. What were you doing in the tree anyways?"

"Tree?" I asked. "I don't know. The last thing I remember was going to bed. Then I wake up and now I'm here." Not a complete lie; they didn't need to know that I was actually from a different universe. "Who are you?"

"Aragorn!" came a voice through the bushes. A few seconds later none other than Gandalf the Gray came pushing through the bushes. His gaze snapped immediately to me. Something played in his eyes, amusement maybe?

"Well, there goes any form of precaution," muttered Aragorn.

"Oh nonsense, Aragorn," said Gandalf lightly. He turned his gaze to me. "I see you've finally arrived, Artemis." My mouth fell open. How the hell did he know my name?

"Gandalf? Gandalf the Gray?" I asked. "What's going on? What did you do? What did I do? Why am I here? What THE HELL is going on!"

"Patience, child!" he huffed. "You ask so many questions. Now, I suggest that you," he said to Aragorn, "go back to the camp, and take Pippin too. I have some business to discuss with our new friend here."

"So she is not a foe?" asked Aragorn eying me suspiciously.

"No, Aragorn," he said. "She is not. Now take Pippin back to the campsite." Aragorn looked like he wanted to say something else, but he seemed to decide against it, and trekked through the bushes behind them. I just stared dumbfounded at the discussion before me with my mouth hanging open in shock.

"Uhhh," was all I said as Gandalf turned to me.

"Now," he said leaning on his staff. "Now we ask the questions."

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"Now, that is an interesting question indeed. I would say welcome to Middle Earth, but really it is welcome **back**."

"Okay, start talking," I demanded. "Are you saying I've been here before? Why am I here? What did you do? What happened?!"

"You, Artemis Isabella Draycott, are not of the world you just came from. You are of an ancient race of Middle Earth. A race that was never recorded of or well known. You are strikingly similar to the humans, but are not of the race of Man. You are Elithicon. A species barely discernable from Man but a few distinct qualities."

"Huh?" was all I had to say. I really had to be dreaming now.

"Have you, in your old world ever experienced dreams that were so vivid that they seemed real? They were real. You can read, write, and speak almost any language you come across. You're adopted. You are extremely strong without training at all. When you're outside, you think you hear voices sometimes. You're not insane, Artemis. You were hearing the voices of Middle Earth, calling to you to come home." I stared at him my mouth hanging wide open. Everything he said to me was true. I would walk down the street, hike in the woods, sit on my roof, and I would hear whispers in my head. I just dismissed them and convinced myself that they weren't real, that nothing had happened. That I wasn't insane. I was stronger than any guys in my grade at school, even the football players. I was taking four foreign language classes, and was better at speaking the language and writing it than the teacher was. When I dreamed at night that I was in an epic duel with some huge monster, I would wake up and be sore and even have faint traces of cuts and bruises. But there was no way in hell that I could ever be from Middle Earth. Lord of the Rings is my favorite movies and books of all time, and I had to just be dreaming again. Another extremely vivid realistic dream.

"Okay," I said, "even if I did believe you, which I don't really at all, why would I have ever been on earth in the first place? You say that I have extremely vivid dreams, well this could just be another one of them."

"This is not a dream," he said. "This is the reason for your dreams."

"Then how was I sent, hypothetically, to Earth, and how am I, hypothetically, back again?" I asked. "Try to answer that question."

"When you were a baby, Sauron tried to destroy your people. But he was thwarted; you escaped. Your race of people was nearly extinct. You see, your race of people, the Elithicons, harness a great power. A power great enough to destroy all of Mordor in a single breath. That is what defines your race from Man. Sauron saw your people as a threat and went after you, intending to kill your people. The Elithicons made their last stand, but Sauron used trickery and deceit. He deceived them, and managed to slaughter the Elithicons in the dead of night. You were born on that day, when everyone was killed. But you disappeared. It was a myth that you even existed. To those as old as I am, to those who even know of the existence of Elithicons, you are a legend. You were the last of your people. You are the last Elithicon."

"No…" I said. "I mean, my parents said I was adopted, but no way from Middle Earth! You've got to be mistaken. I'm no legend. I'm just Artemis. I'm just me! I don't know how to fight! I don't have any power!"

"You have skills in fighting that you don't even know of yet. You may never have trained a day in your life, but any person you've ever watched fight you'll be able to mimic them almost perfectly." I wasn't the most behaved child at school. I was always getting in fights, getting bloodied up for fighting with guys. Which is funny, because I always won. Well, I guess I know why I always won now.

"No!" I said. "This is not happening! I refuse to be a Mary-Sue! I can't just be here and automatically know how to fight! You've got to be shitting me!"

"No, I am not 'shitting' you," he said the curse word obviously foreign on his tongue. I giggled, being reminded of a line in Terminator 3. Plus, Gandalf just said 'shitting.' That's pretty darn funny! Gandalf ignored my sniggers and continued. "This is why I wished to speak to you in private. You know of the quest do you not?" I shook my head yes.

"Well yeah, I mean I've read the books and everything. I know what happens. I basically have the entire first movie memorized!" Gandalf looked at me strangely, and then I remembered that they didn't have movies here. "Never mind…"

"You now play an important role in the fate of the Fellowship," he continued darkly. "You know what is to come. You must not by any means at all alter the outcome of any event that is to come."

"Okay, sure," I said nodding my head, clearing not getting whatever he was implying.

"You must stay with the Fellowship, Lady Artemis," he said. "Saruman will be looking for you, for I feel it right now, Sauron has sensed your presence. He has detected the amount of power you bring with you here. He wants you as much as he wants to catch Frodo. He will either try to catch you, and use you as a weapon, or kill you so you aren't a threat." I just stared at him.

"Shit! Are you telling me that the most evil Dark Lord since Voldemort is trying to f-ing kill me! Oh come on! This story's supposed to be about Frodo and the freaking Ring! Not me! No!"

"Lady Artemis, you are tied to the fate of the Ring as much as Frodo. He must succeed for you to live. You have been trained how to use your power none at all and Sauron will be able to kill you very easily if he returns to his full power by gaining the Ring."

"Okay then," trying to wrap my head around this. "Wait, how did I get here in the first place then?"

"A few months back I had been researching the Elithicons for there are no written documents of their existence at all. They are unheard of even more than hobbits, for they are nearly extinct. I am a practiced wizard. I was *ahem* experimenting with a bit of rare magic, and I found a startling discovery. A portal to different worlds. I brought you back for you to help us. If Frodo was to fail, you would be our last fleeting chance of hope of victory over Sauron."

"You have _got_ to kidding me."

"Now, I think it's high time you met the rest of the Fellowship. They must not know who you truly are. For now, you are merely from a distant land and are deemed trustworthy. I only regret that you didn't show up sooner, we could've trained you in Rivendell. Shame," he said turning and walking through the thicket. I sighed and followed him. Crazy old man.

Through the trees we walked into a clearing. I recognized the scene right away. This is where the Crebain from Dunland came and would spy on the fellowship. But right now, it looked as though I had dropped in before the scene was to begin. Frodo and Sam were sitting together on a rock, eating. Aragorn was sitting on another rock as Gandalf and Gimli surveyed the sights around them, while Legolas stood a ways away, doing whatever it is elves do to pass time. Stupid nancing elf, walking around being all pretty and perfect. Grrrr. No, I really do love elves and such, but I guess I get jealous at how perfect they are. Legolas and Gimli have some good times together in the later movies and that always makes me laugh. Pippin rushed over to me excitedly.

"Who're you?" he asked.

"She is an old friend of mine," said Gandalf covering for me. "I summoned her here to help us on the Fellowship." I smiled thankfully at Gandalf before I was dragged away by Pippin. I saw Gandalf chuckle at the sight of me being dragged along by a creature half my size.

Pippin hauled me over to the hobbit that I recognized as Merry.

"Merry! Merry, look what we found in the woods!" he said happily. Merry hurried over with excitement etched on his face.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Artemis," I said smiling.

"I'm Merry," he said shaking my hand enthusiastically.

"Pleased to meet you," I said laughing. Hobbits are so adorable!!!

"Where did you come from, Lady Artemis?" asked Merry.

"Please, don't call me lady. It sounds much too formal. Ick! And I'm from a distant land far away. Not many have heard of it. It's called America."

"Ooooh," he said in awe. "Why were you lying under a tree?"

"Gandalf summoned me using magic, and I had a rather bumpy landing. Apparently I fell out of the tree and _hit my head_," I said emphasizing the last words toward Gandalf's direction, who deliberately decided not to hear me and turned the other way.

"Well, any friend of Gandalf is a friend of ours! Why don't you come and eat! We hobbits do like our ten meals a day," said Pippin happily. I grinned and followed him to a campfire where there was food in a satchel. Merry and Pippin both began bickering over who would get the last bit of jam after we each got a roll of bread. Merry ended up winning, mainly because he sneezed all over the jam. Pippin didn't like boogeys in his jam. I ate my piece of bread quietly, watching them with extreme amusement. We finished eating just as Frodo and Sam wandered over to us.

"Who's this?" asked Sam. Merry and Pippin explained to them before I could even open my mouth.

"And she's a friend of Gandalf," finished Pippin.

"Oh, I see," smiled Sam.

"Why are you wearing such strange clothing?" asked Frodo. I looked down. I was in my flannel black and green plaid pants, and a dark green camisole with my dad's flannel shirt keeping me warm over the camisole. In other words, I was in my pajamas. Thank God I had decided to wear my bra to bed last night.

"Oh yeah…" I said. "Yeah, I'm still in my pajamas." They looked at me questioningly. "What I went to sleep in." Comprehension dawned on their faces.

"Oh," he said. "But I've never seen such clothes before. Are you elfish or human or some other race? Where do they wear such clothes?"

"I'm from a place called America. And I'm human," I said glancing nervously at Gandalf who nodded me on. "These clothes are American. It's a very different place than here, and we all wear very different clothes. It's a small place compared to here."

"I have never heard of this, America," said Sam.

"Most haven't," I said. "It's a very young country, only 200 years old. It wouldn't be in any of the great libraries records either. Technically we don't exist here; that is, well, we aren't an official country. But we do consist of many people, enough to make a country." I was surprising myself with my own skill in lying. Gandalf nodded his head.

"I have oft heard of settlements like that, on no map but still exist. Very interesting indeed," he said playing along.

I smiled and ate the last piece of my bread.

"Thank you very much for feeding me, I don't remember the last time I ate before this," I said, my stomach now happily full.

"You're welcome, Lady Artemis," said Sam, who had cooked most of the meal I just ate.

"Please, sir," I said. "There is no miss about it. I am simply Artemis, and that is that." Gandalf smiled and nodded. I looked around and saw that Gimli was walking over to join us, Legolas tailing behind him. Without a doubt, as soon as he saw me, he immediately demanded who I was, what I was doing here, yadda yadda yadda. Gandalf explained this time. Once the dwarf had finally accepted that I was going to join the Fellowship, his attitude toward me lightened considerably. I was just about to ask which direction they were going next when a fair-haired man called out to Merry and Pippin.

"Oi! You two, we need to practice our swordplay still," yelled Boromir. My heart froze in my chest. Boromir, my favorite character from Lord of the Rings, the man I was in love with, was here. I had forgotten which with being preoccupied with my predicament was understandable, that he was here as well. I studied him with unbelieving eyes. He was every bit as handsome as he was in the movies, with his blonde hair and fit body. Suddenly I remembered I needed to breathe.

_Dammit, Artemis! You can't fall in love with a fictional character now that you're actually here! Stop being a Mary-sue! Still, it's always important to breathe. Breathe, breathe!_

When Merry and Pippin didn't leave right away, he walked over, ruffling his hands in their hair. I mean, who could blame him? Hobbits are so damn cute! My heart was beating extremely loud as his eyes swept the group. When they came to rest on me, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed.

"Who's this?" he asked. The hobbits launched into the story again, but I barely heard them as I watched Boromir with adoring eyes. He was so royal and graceful in everything he said and in every movement he made, that I barely noticed the world around me. Once in a while his eyes would glance back at me and then back at the hobbits telling the story, and my heart would flutter uncontrollably. When the hobbits finished, he looked at me with mild interest.

"Now," said Boromir. "These two have to come and practice sword fighting." He pulled Merry and Pippin out of their seats. "Come on," he said when they began to protest.

"Hey, can I practice too?" I asked. Boromir looked at me incredulously.

"You know how to handle a sword?"

"Kinda, no not really… Gandalf says I need to learn," I said indignantly. I had taken fencing lessons once, when I was 10. But Gandalf said that any person I had watched fight, I could mimic. I have seen a lot of fighting movies. Seriously, my favorite movies include King Arthur, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, The Patriot, Troy, The Princess Bride, Indiana Jones, and Braveheart. Maybe I could catch on… maybe… probably not.

"All right then," he said. "Come on; better get you trained as well as Merry and Pippin if you're to survive any orc attacks."

"Well then, you're just a cheerful ray of sunshine aren't you?" I said sarcastically. I got up and followed him to the space in the movie where he practiced with Merry and Pippin. Speaking of the two, they began running and jumping around, poking each other in the ribs. I stifled a laugh. They were so cute! I love hobbits.

I shrugged off my flannel over shirt, stealthily burying my gun in the folds and tossing it to the ground. Boromir handed me a spare sword. It fit well in my hand and wasn't too heavy or too light. It was a bit shorter than I would have liked, but I guess I should start practicing with all sorts of blades if I'm to become good at not being killed by orcs. Merry and Pippin grabbed their own swords but hung back, apparently they wanted to see if I could fight. I rolled my eyes and turned to face Boromir.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess…" I said. He started off slowly, the metallic clangs of our swords ringing throughout the air. I thought back to what Gandalf had said about my skills as an Elithicon. I tried to remember anything from any of the movies I had ever seen swordfighting in. Boromir and Aragorn fighting in battle flashed in my mind. Suddenly my muscles tensed and took control of themselves. It was like I was in a trance, and I wasn't really controlling what my body was doing. I was not only parrying his attacks, but I began forcing Boromir back, overtaking him. Boromir frowned and began pressing harder against me, using more swift and powerful strikes. He began overpowering me again.

Then the scene of the epic battle from Star Wars Episode III flashed in my mind. My arms started swinging my sword like a lightsaber, catching Boromir completely off guard. I would've laughed at the look on his face if I hadn't been in that haze. I guess I kinda had an advantage over him, for I had seen how he fought in the movies; therefore I knew his fighting style. I had memorized how he plunged, ducked, parried, and swiped, seeing as how he had been my favorite character and I was obsessed with him. But I couldn't control my body. I was just imitating all of the great action movies I had ever seen. I wasn't a trained warrior; I couldn't even control my arms.

My mind flashed through any sword fight I had ever seen, and through my daze, I saw Boromir backing up hastily trying to parry each blow. I was overtaking him easily, getting better and better with each stroke.

And then suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, my body stopped. The trance was gone as quickly as it had begun. I shook my head, and barely had time to register a sword clanging down on my own on, knocking it out of my hands. I stood there dazed, with the tip of Boromir's sword at my neck. I just stared at him, amazed at what I had just done.

"Are you all right?" Gandalf's voice echoed in my ear. I shook my head experimentally, like a dog trying to rid its ears of water, finally coming back to my senses.

"Hm?" I asked groggily. "Wuzzgoinon?"

"That was amazing!" cried Pippin, his voice ringing loudly in my ears and I cringed at the loud noise.

"Lady Artemis?" asked Boromir. And then I finally snapped out of the groggy state.

"Don't call me a lady! Siriusly guys! Stop with the formality," I whined. Boromir chuckled, and I had to stop myself from staring at his beautiful smile and completely zoning out of it _again_.

"Fair enough," Aragorn said who had joined the crowd sometime during the sparring.

"I think that's enough for one day," Gandalf said, telling me to sit down. I plopped down on the log, completely bamboozled by what just happened. Everyone was staring at me, which was weird because you would think I would be staring at them considering they were all characters I was obsessed with in Lord of the Rings. I coughed uncomfortably. Boromir seemed to snap out of it, and he quickly pulled Merry and Pippin away to start sparring which broke up the rest of the Fellowship. I breathed freely again, tugging on my red flannel button up shirt, hastily stowing my handgun in my pocket again.

Oh deary me, the Crebain from Dunland should be arriving anytime now.


	2. Telling What Ought Naught to Be Told

Chapter Two

I sighed unhappily, quickly scanned the sky for any sign of the spies of Saruman. There they were. It was barely a black speck on the horizon, but a speck it was. A speck that grew to a dot and the dot kept getting bigger and bigger. Suddenly I heard a cry as Merry and Pippin tackled Boromir as they wrestled on the ground. Nobody noticed the Crebain.

"Look!" I cried pointing at it. "What is that?"

"Tis merely a wisp of clouds," said Gimli. Boromir joined his side with Merry and Pippin in a headlock in his arms.

"It's moving fast," he said grimly. "Against the wind."

"Crebain from Dunland!" cried Legolas.

"Hide!" yelled Aragorn. We scrambled to find a place where we would not be seen.

"Hurry," said Boromir, grabbing me and shoving me behind a bush before diving behind it himself. Sam quickly snuffed out the fire, and Frodo grabbed his cloak as he and Aragorn took shelter behind some boulders. The Crebain passed us by, cawing menacingly as we waited in anxiety. I held my breath waiting for it to be over. Then I realized that Boromir was half pressed against me, my back to his chest, trying to remain out of sight. The hiding spot he had chosen was very small and cramped for one person, let alone two people. My heart thudded so loudly that I thought it might draw the attention of the Crebain. He was so close to me that I could feel his heartbeat. Though the air was cool, I suddenly felt very hot and flustered. My favorite character in LotR's was always Boromir. I fall in love with fictional men, and my love for Boromir was extremely deep. To actually meet him, for him to be real was a dream come true.

'_Stop it!' I yelled at myself. 'You will not be a Mary-sue! Just because Boromir's real, and extremely sexy, and has a six pack abs… wait what was I talking about again?' _

My head was spinning, and I realized that the Crebain had gone, but Boromir did not move. I stared at him. He was looking at me with an expression I couldn't recognize. It looked like a cross between thoughtfulness and confusedness. But before I could discern it, he was standing up, and holding out his hand to help me up. I ignored his hand, and got to my feet by myself in an attempt to be less Mary-sue-ish. I brushed dirt off my trousers nonchalantly. Dear God! How was I supposed to make it through the day when I have an oober crush on one of the characters that is by my side constantly? Pull yourself together!

One thing they didn't show in the movie or in the book was that we actually camped out before starting our journey across the mountains (which I was not looking forward to). So I was quite pleased when we got to get some shut-eye, however I couldn't keep my eyes shut for they kept wandering back to Boromir. Then I had to keep mentally slapping myself. I mean c'mon, he's like 13 years older than me… but he's so sexy… _Mental slap! _Oh who cares! He was so handsome; I mean, he was beautiful on screen, but there was just no way to describe how heroic and dashing he was in real life. He had a fierce glint in his eyes, which was often clouded by a dull, sad, grey look. The hobbits seemed to amuse him, for when he would play around with them, a twinkle would shine through the bleakness. I thought back to his story, about his father. I remembered that his father hadn't been very loving to him or his brother, but he was still favored over his brother which made him feel guilty. It was no wonder that he was always sad. I wanted to comfort him in some way, but he didn't seem to want to have anything to do with me. I don't think he believed my reasoning and story for being here. He was like Harry not trusting Snape, even though Dumbledore trusted Snape! Then again, Snape was kind of a dark bloke. Who is another one of my favorite characters… hehehe, what is it with me and middle aged men?! Like House (Hugh Laurie)Hugh , and_** Sean Bean**_, and _**Johnny Depp**_, and Hugh Jackman, and Robert Downey Jr., and Mel Gibson (brilliant and attractive actor, complete and total idiot in real life), Arnold Schwarzenegger (back in the day of course), etc.…

Unable to sit still, I got up and started pacing the ground near my make-shift of a bed. My muscles ached with tiredness, my eyes itched with sleep. But I couldn't stop; my mind was racing, trying to make sense of this. What if I was to go to sleep, and when I woke up I would be in my world again? I wouldn't like that one bit. But what if I died in this world? It does not matter to me; I would rather die in this world than live in my own universe. My eyes flitted over the campsite. Everyone was asleep, except Boromir. My heart fluttered as I saw his eyes gazing off into the distance. He was on guard duty, unfortunately for him, he got the night shift. He looked restless and a frown graced his features. He still did not trust me; I could tell. And honestly? I couldn't blame him. I wouldn't trust me either, but he must trust me, or that could mess up the entire quest. I made up my mind and walked over to him, plopping myself down on the grass beside him. His eyes snapped to me, mistrust written all over his face. I sighed.

"Why do you not trust me?" I asked. "Have I given you reason not?"Boromir looked at me.

"No, you have not. But I still don't trust you for I do not know you. Your little display of newfound talent was a little suspicious," he brooded. I smiled a little sadly.

"Do you not trust Dumbledor- I mean Gandalf's judgment?" I asked. (Sorry, just had to add some HP in there! :D)

"I do; I just don't understand," he said gruffly. "It's like there's holes in your story that need to be filled in." He's the smart one out of the bunch. Dear God, I would've thought at least Aragorn would've been at least a little suspicious.

"You have the instincts of a natural leader," I said softly. He stiffened. We sat in silence for a while. Then I asked,

"You are Boromir, Lord of Gondor?" I know the answer already, but hey, I was making conversation.

"Yes," he said, but did not elaborate. I paused.

"I know what you fear, Son of Gondor," I said wanting to make things right between us, wanting to comfort him somehow. "You fear for the fall of your people. But do not give up; we have hope. Frodo is our hope, and I promise you, as long as no one takes the Ring from him, Gondor will not fall." Boromir stared at me, eyes wide.

"How did you- wha-?" he stammered.

"There is more to me than meets the eye, but I'm afraid that if I told you, you would call me a lunatic," I said giving him a knowing smile.

"Are you a psychic, one who knows the future?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"I wouldn't have taken you as one to believe that mystical crap, Boromir," I smirked. "No, I am not psychic. But I do know what's going to happen next in our quest. It's all rather confusing. Gandalf's being a bitch about my heritage and stuff. I mean, he doesn't even know what's going on and then he's telling me off on some crap that-"

"Wait what?" he interrupted. "What are you? Who are you?'

"Shit," I swore. In my ranting I had accidently said that, hadn't I? "Ummmm… yeah, about that…"

"How does Gandalf know you in the first place?"

"Ummmm…" I said hesitantly. "_These are not the droids you are looking for,_" I said passing my hand in front of his face.

"What?" he asked now extremely confused.

"Crap, that would've been so cool if that had worked."

"Lady Artemis-" Boromir started.

"I swear to Valar, if you call me lady one more time, I will rip your head off and stick it on a long wooden stick for the entire world to see. Either that or I'll start singing; that's pretty bad torture by itself."

"Good heavens, you are unlike any other woman I have ever met!" he said. I sniggered; he said 'good heavens.' Ha!

"Don't try to change the subject," Boromir said. I glared daggers at him. "How do you know what's not yet come to pass? Are you even human? You said something about Gandalf talking about your ancestors." I sat there a moment, teetering on the edge of telling him everything. I really wanted someone besides Gandalf to know so I didn't have to go to the old man for everything, but Gandalf had also told me not to tell anyone who I really was or where I was from. Screw what the old geezer had said. If anyone was gonna know, I would probably want to tell Boromir.

"I'll tell you," I decided going against Gandalf's words. "But you have to swear to me not to tell anyone unless I and/or Gandalf say you can."

"Sure," he said rolling his eyes.

"Empty words," I hissed. "Make the Unbreakable Vow!"He just stared at me like I was insane.

"Why is it unbreakable?" he asked cautiously, like he was talking to a mad man, which in a way, I kind of am mad.

"If you break it you die." He stared at me like I had completely lost my mind.

"No," he said. "I'll promise, but I'm not going to make a promise where you can sneak up and kill me in the middle of the night if you feel like it."

"Fine," I said sticking out my tongue at him. "You promise?"

"I promise not to tell anyone," he said obviously still scared I would go crazy any minute and kill him. "Now as for killing me in the middle of the night. Let's agree that you don't."

"Fine," I huffed, grinning jokingly.

"You swear?"he asked.

"Every damn day."

"That's not what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Barbie boy," I said. "Well technically, if anyone in the Fellowship would be a Barbie boy, it would probably be Legolas, stupid nancing elf…" Boromir just stared at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Now, tell me," he said.

"Um, well…" I started. "I'm not of this world."

"Are you saying that there are other worlds besides Middle Earth?" he asked. "I'm guessing all that you said about that America place was completely made up, right?"

"Actually," I said, "I come from a world called Earth, no middle about it. And America is a real place; it's a land of freedom, with elected leaders instead of the throne being passed from heir to heir. We are a much more technologically advanced world than yours."

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

"See, told you that you wouldn't believe me," I grumbled. I frowned. Then I got an idea. "You want proof?"

"If you could find any; you're barking mad!" he said edging slightly away from me.

"Says you," I said, digging around in my pockets until my fingers wrapped around the holster of my gun. I pulled it out and displayed it to Boromir.

"What is that?" he asked he asked in awe.

"Proof." I smirked at his astounded face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's a weapon," I said. "It shoots these small pieces of metal called bullets at extremely fast speeds at an enemy. It's like a more accurate and deadly crossbow. Although, I don't know which one would be more deadly on Middle Earth, a gun or Legolas with a bow and arrow?"

"How does it do that? And what harm could a tiny metal ball do?" he asked.

"I don't really understand how to make a gun and all that, but I know there's this substance called gunpowder-"and it was at that point that I broke into a violent fit of giggles. Sean Bean in National Treasure had a lot of experience with gunpowder and the fact that I was telling one of his alter-egos about gunpowder I found extremely amusing. Boromir looked at me half shocked, half annoyed.

"What?" he asked, kinda pissed off.

"It's just- oh, well you wouldn't get it. It's got something to do with my world that would take a very long time to explain and would require you to go on a little faith," I said, my laughter subsiding.

"Fair enough," he said. "Now what's this with the gunpowder?" I held back another giggle attack as I tried my best to explain to him just how a gun worked and how much damage it could do.

"All in all," I said. "My gun will come in handy with orc attacks."

"I'm beginning to believe you, but still," he said. "This could just be a brand new invention and you're just trying to make me think you aren't of this world."

"How much more proof do you need?" I asked.

"Well, it's just that I still don't understand how you would know what you said about me? Even if you are from a different world, that wouldn't make sense that you knew that," he said. I sighed, contemplating whether I should tell him or not. I figured it would be nice to have at least one person around here to be honest with, and why not it be Boromir?

"You might think I'm mad, but in the world I come from, this entire journey we're going on is merely a story in my world, a book actually. I know what's going to happen, and I know everything behind it too. But if you believe me, don't ask me to tell you what happens. I can't. I can tell you of things that have already occurred if you want proof, but I can't tell you the future for fear of disrupting what is to become. If my presence changes the course of the story, there could be dastardly consequences. Plus Gandalf forbade me of speaking of any of this to anyone."

"That is mad. Do you have any idea how out of your mind you sound?" he said.

"I know all about you," I said glaring at him. "Your father is Denethor, and he favors you over your brother, Faramir. But that never kept you two from being good friends and brothers. At the counsel of Elrond Gimli tried to destroy the Ring by chopping it in two with his axe. It didn't work. You gave your idea which no one else agreed with. You think that the Ring should be used as a weapon against Sauron, but I implore you to see reason. The Ring will not harm its maker. It's like a faithful attack dog, which will always return to its master and attack anyone who gets in its way. There is no way to turn it against its master. Anyone who tries to do so, ends up hurt. You possess the Horn of Gondor. You love your people and your greatest fear is to see the White City fall. When you were in Rivendell you accidentally cut your finger with the shards of Isildur's sword. Then you ran off when you saw Aragorn. At the counsel, Elrond said, and I quote, "It must be cast into the fires of Mount Doom. One of you… must do this." Before Frodo got to Rivendell, he got stabbed by a morgul blade. Arwen and Aragorn are in love, and she gave him the Evenstar. I know a lot about the others too, I am not mad. Everything I have told you is true." Boromir's face paled at each word I spoke.

"How do you know this?" he whispered.

"I know this because you are in a story that I know the ending to," I said. "Ask me about the rest of the Fellowship. I know their past as well. If you don't believe me, how can I prove it to you?"

"It isn't possible…" he said.

"I didn't think so either," I said. "But my world is so boring. I longed each day to escape to a different universe, like Middle Earth. I longed to spend my days fighting alongside the heroes I read of in books, heroes like you-" I stopped. Under the cover of the black night, I blushed, knowing that I had said too much. I stayed silent, cursing my Mary-sue like thoughts.

"You dreamed of fighting at my side? Why?" he asked quietly.

"The book in which you are from," I said hesitantly. "It's called Lord of the Rings. And, well, you were always my favorite character. The rest were all tied: Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Arwen, Elrond, Gimli, Legolas, Faramir, Eowyn, etc. They're all awesome, but I don't know, you seemed to stand out from the rest. I even studied your sword-fighting style a little, which is why I kind of had an advantage when we fought."

"I knew there was something out of place there!" he exclaimed. "You seemed to know which moves I was going to use before I had even decided on which myself."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I said. I lay on my back in the grass, staring at the stars with a smile on my face. Mars was unusually bright tonight. I giggled to myself; I felt like centaur. Boromir looked at me questioningly, but I ignored him, not feeling like explaining yet another book from my universe. I rested my arms behind my head, supporting it so my skull wasn't bruised by the hard ground. I pondered that if this world really existed, well, what about all the other book series in my universe? Did Harry Potter exist in an alternate universe? What about Percy Jackson and the Olympians? Or PotC or Star Wars? Or was I in a dream right now, and any moment I could wake up and this would be gone? But it felt too real to be a dream; my muscles were still aching from fighting, and that was not going to help on our trip halfway through the mountains tomorrow. Plus it would have to be a pretty crazy dream for Gandalf to come up with something like the explanation he gave. My thoughts were interrupted as Boromir asked me something.

"What?" I asked, not catching what he said. I sat up and waited for him to repeat the question.

"What is that?" he asked pointing at my chest. I looked down.

Oh shit.

I was wearing my LotR replica of the Ring. There it was, glinting evilly in the moonlight, although it was just made out of regular metal, no fiery flames of Mount Doom. I groaned, cursing myself for wearing it to bed. This might cause some problems, but there was no way I was leaving this behind; do you know how much it cost me to get it in the first place!? I slipped the chain off my neck and held it in my hand on display for Boromir.

"This is a replica of the Ring," I said, annoyed, because now I would have to explain what a movie was and so on and so forth.

"Why? How did you get a replica? No one even knew it existed until the counsel of Elrond!" he said.

"Yes, yes, but I'm from a different universe, remember? Damn, now I have to explain what movies are…"

"What's a movie?" the word sounded foreign on his tongue. I did my best to explain.

"It's like someone recorded a play, there are actors and everything and costumes and sets. Well a lot of the times, books are made into movies. I don't know the details of how it works, but it's basically like you can project a story onto a giant screen. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring is a movie, and people who are obsessed with movies (like me) buy replicas of the props used in the movie, like the Ring. Actually, the actor who plays your character, his name is Sean Bean. When I was little I used to get him confused with the guy who plays Sam's role; that guy's name is Sean Astin." I laughed to myself.

"That's really difficult to picture," Boromir finally said.

"I can imagine. What would it be like if some girl told me that my life was a source of entertainment for people in a different universe? I wouldn't believe it either, so I don't blame you if you don't believe me."

"That's the weird thing," he said. "I believe you; I just can't picture it in my mind."

"Yeah… in my world, I'm like a movie fanatic. I know everything there is to know about a movie if I've watched it more than once. People think I'm weird, but hey, it's who I am. I can't change it, and I don't want to change it either. If someone doesn't like me, that's their problem. Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind," I smiled sadly at him. Boromir looked at me thoughtfully.

"Gandalf's right," he said. "You're very wise for one so young."

"I'm older than I look," I said indignantly. "What's up with you guys thinking young people don't have brains?" Boromir held up his hands in surrender.

"I meant to compliment you, not insult," he chuckled at my fury, which made me seethe silently at him. "You said you were older than you looked, out of curiosity, how old are you?" I glared at him.

"Guess," I said.

"I want to say fifteen," he said.

"Pshha!" I said. "I'm seventeen. I was supposed to turn eighteen in a couple days, but I don't know what day it is now that I'm on middle earth. How old are you?"

"I'm coming upon my 31st birthday," he said. I grinned.

"That's not that old," I teased. "You just might be the same age as my grandpa!" He looked at me shocked that my grandfather would be so young. "I'm just joking," I said. "My grandpa's around 87."

"Very funny," Boromir brooded. I chuckled. We were getting along fabulously.

Then my blood turned cold. If he was to die on this quest, then Boromir died at the age of 31. So young! He hadn't even married yet; he would never have kids and grow old; he was going to die… Tears began to well up in my eyes as the image of his final breath flashed in my mind. Oh how I had sobbed every time I watched that scene. Not until now did I realize how young he had been. Sean Bean of course, looked older, but his character was only 31.

"What's wrong?" his voice came through a hazy mist that seemed to surround me as the world spun. I blinked tears out of my eyes. Curse me and my Mary-sue emotions. I wasn't supposed to get all crying and icky! I looked at. He was looking at me, at _me_, with such compassion and concern for a girl he barely knew, it was just so… so, heartbreaking. "Ar, what's troubling you?"

"Nothing," I said, wiping my eyes hurriedly.

"It is not bloody nothing," he said. "You're crying; what's upset you?" My heart was breaking as I looked at the face of a man who would within the next few months, be dead. I couldn't think straight. I shook my head, not trusting my voice to speak.

Then Boromir did something I had only ever dreamed of. He swept me into a hug. He knew me not, and yet he sat there comforting me. It only made my heart hurt even more. Gah! Why oh why did I have to be a Mary-sue!!! He was so noble and kind; why did he have to die! He has to die for the story to stay on course… Why did it have to come to this?

Was being here a blessing or a curse; to make me feel even more deeply for Boromir, for now he was no longer fictional, but hugging me in his arms, whispering soothing words into my ear. It was unreal; I was in heaven, yet in hell. I looked up and his gaze caught mine. He had to most beautiful grey eyes, just like the mist after a rainstorm. I was hypnotized. He couldn't die; I won't allow it, even if I should take the arrows meant for him into my own body. I now understood what Gandalf was forbidding me to do, but if he thought that I would just sit by and let Boromir die, he was dead wrong. Love is a powerful thing; it is terrible and a blessing. It was like the heaven and hell I felt now. Boromir had my heart, and he didn't even know it. He was so close to me, his lips not an inch from mine.

And then I had an epic Mary-sue moment because I just couldn't help it. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Kiss me," I breathed. I didn't care if he had only known me for less than a day. He knew more about me than most of the people back at home did. My girly Mary-sue side spoke for me, as I furiously fought against it. "Please…"

He seemed to be considering it as I gazed at him, my eyes wide and innocent. My breath hitched in my chest as he leaned toward me.

"You are without a doubt the strangest woman I have ever met," he whispered.

"Please…"

"Will you be happy again? It's pains me to see in such pain, and I can do nothing to make it stop. I feel so useless…" he said. I waited with baited breath.

He lowered his face to mine, very lightly pressing his lips to mine. I felt fire coursing through my veins, and though the night was cool, Boromir seemed to keep me warm. My entire body was filled with light, pleasant tingling as my heart pounded loudly in my chest. But then, all too soon, Boromir drew back and the air was cool again.

"Why?" was all he asked.

"I don't know," I said. I couldn't tell him it was because I was in love with him (stupid girly Mary-sue side); I couldn't tell him because he was going to die. We sat there on the ground staring at each other until a loud voice coming from a ways away interrupted us, and we sprang apart.

"Oi! Boromir, my shift," he said. "Go get some rest; we will all need it in the morning." He was completely oblivious to what he had just interrupted, and all the better. I didn't want to be the group gossip. What I had said was stupid and impulsive (and Mary-sue-ish). And I enjoyed every second of it. Boromir quickly stood up.

"Good night," he said to me softly.

"It was indeed," I whispered to myself as he turned his back and walked over to his bed to get some shut eye, which reminded me that I should do the same. I sighed and stumbled over to my bed, pulling my newly given to me cloak over my shivering body. I had made up my mind.

I was going to save Boromir. I was going to save his life.


	3. I Hate Cephalopods

Thanks you guys for reviewing!!!

Sophie Rostochine: Thanks so much! :D yeah, I really hoped that people would like Artemis, and I definitely didn't want to make her a Mary Sue. Poor Boromir! I really do feel so bad for him; I really wish that I could just go back and save him! He's my all time favorite character of LotR! There aren't too many Boromir lovers out there; everyone's always all over Aragorn (which there's nothing wrong with, cuz I love him too!) it's just Boromir dies so early on that no one really cares to look back and see what a great guy he was

Rere: Thank you so much!!! I shall be updating! Don't worry!!! I've just been caught up with school lately, but I would never abandon poor Artemis and Boromir all by themselves! (they might kill me, you know how kickass they are)

Creamcheese: Thanks so much! :D It really means a lot! Yeah, I was trying to make a character that Boromir would actually find interest in, y'know? Like I couldn't make her a Mary Sue or something. Plus, I wanted Ar to kill a whole bunch of Orcs and Uruk-hai. :D

Kat: Thanks you!!! I tried to make Ar a character everyone would like, with a little sarcasm thrown in. There will be further sarcasm and hilarity to be found, don't fret about that! I wish I was more like Ar; I hope that I'm just as witty as she is, but as for the whole athletic thing going on, I REALLY wish that I could fight with swords! That would be so wicked! :D

dark wraith: thanks so much!!! But, yeah, even though hobbits are extremely cute, they're extremely, EXTREMELY brave and very loyal :D I didn't mean to make it seem like they were any less than what they are. And Sean Bean is quite awesome :D Boromir's flaws do make him more human, cuz he and Aragorn are actually the only humans really in Fellowship :D

I don't mind the cold. I really don't. But when you're traveling over a blasted mountain that you know that as soon as you get about halfway through you have to go back down the mountain because an avalanche falls on you? Well, let's just say I wasn't a fan of going over the mountains.

Plus, I wasn't wearing what you would call proper trekking attire. I was wearing my bloody pajamas! I wish I could just go up and tell Gandalf that the trip through the mountains was useless, but I knew he would just ignore anything I said.

I trudged up the mountain in my Uggs (which I was very thankful that I had accidentally worn to bed that night) shivering as I wrapped my newly acquired cloak more firmly around my shoulders. We were barely a quarter of the way to the place where the Fellowship would decide to turn around and go through Moria, and I was trying not to freeze my arse off. I don't have that much body heat to begin with, and trudging through waist high snow was not helping improve my body temperature. I couldn't feel my face at all, and my toes were basically ice in my shoes. Then I thought about the hobbits.

Those poor creatures! They were half my size (and mind you, I'm very tiny) and I doubt their cloaks were doing much good up here, plus they don't have shoes! They must be even colder than I am! My heart went out to them as I willed each foot to take a step in front of the other. Then I remembered another scene that was to happen on the mountains. I froze in my tracks (not literally froze, just, well, you get the idea). Oh crap. Boromir was going to get tempted by the Ring, therefore starting a chain reaction to when he would eventually try to take it from Frodo, and then die.

I willed my feet to move faster. I had to catch up with Boromir, distract him so he wouldn't pick up the Ring. But I got there too late. Frodo took a tumble down the mountain. I saw him grasp at his neck, looking for the Ring, but even as I watched, Boromir bent over and retrieved it from the snow.

That's where some things changed.

I had only just caught up with Boromir. He was gazing transfixed at the Ring, but as I made my way toward him, his eyes flitted from the Ring to me. They widened when he saw me. Then he blinked and shook his head, as if he was coming out of a trance. He took a breath and walked down the mountain, promptly handing the Ring back to Frodo without so much as a moment's hesitation. I frowned. That was out of character. (why? because the author wrote him that way! AHAHAHAHA! Actually there is a deeper reason… let's see if the readers can guess it.)

"Tis a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt from such a small thing. Such a little thing," he said no sinister note in his voice. He was just stating his opinion. Weird. He should be obsessing over the Ring right now. Boromir walked to me as Frodo and Aragorn began climbing again.

"Hello, Lady Artemis," he said smiling pleasantly.

"I swear to Valar, if you call me lady one more time, I'll have you guts for garters!" I growled.

"Sorry," he said hastily, trying to hide a grin. "Hello, Ar?" I smiled.

"Very good," I said my mood changing instantly to happy. "All one needs is the proper threats to make one do whatever she wants."

"They are very brutal threats indeed, Ar," he grinned. I was about to reply when I sneezed violently and began to shiver uncontrollably.

"Are you alright?" Boromir asked.

"I'm f-f-fine," my teeth chattered. He frowned obviously not convinced.

"You are not and do not deny it," he said. Boromir pulled off his outer cloak and before I could protest he had me wrapped in a bundle of warmth. All thoughts of objection flew from my mind. Boromir's cloak was warm and inviting. It smelled like the earthy outdoors and of pine trees. I let out an involuntary sigh of contentedness. Boromir smiled and we continued walking together side by side. Soon the terrain got rough. Snow was flying in our faces as we waged war with the mountain.

Then Boromir got the bright idea to build a fire or else we would all die. I agreed with him 100%. I was cold and tired and my muscles ached and I was becoming a Mary Sue. This day was just brilliant. And we have like what, two more days of it? I was just having the merriest time of my fucking life! Grrrr…

The fire finally got big enough to provide some heat, and I relaxed just a tiny bit into it. The Fellowship sat around the fire talking just a little bit.

I was bored. Me when bored= not good. I looked around at the Fellowship.

"HEY!" I said suddenly, causing everyone to look at me warily. "Let's play a game!"

"What kind of game?" asked Merry. I thought for a moment.

"How about we play truth or dare?" I asked excitedly, wanting to try to make a fool of some of the more nancing elf member(s) of the Fellowship.

"What's that?" asked Gimli. I explained the game and I saw Gimli's eyes glint evilly at the elf. Phhhhhht! Oh Gimli…. Silly, silly dwarf.

"I want to go first!" said Merry.

"No, me!" said Pippin.

"I'll go first," I announced. "Seeing as I'm the only one who has ever actually played the game. Okay, since we don't have any spinning device of any sort, let's just go around picking someone to ask a question. Once you're picked and answer the truth or do the dare, you get to pick next. K?"

"Okay!" the hobbits chorused together. Gandalf raised an eyebrow at me, and I gave him a look that said 'if-you-don't-like-the-game-come-up-with-a-better-form-of-entertainment.' Aragorn and Boromir looked unenthusiastic at playing and Legolas, well… he's just Legolas.

"Okay, I pick Sam!" I said, randomly picking a person, starting out nice and easy. "Truth or dare!"

"Truth," said Sam a little hesitantly.

"Okay… hm…" I said not wanting to make the question too embarrassing or else no one would want to play the game. "Have you ever eaves dropped?"

Gandalf grinned and shook his head, and Sam blushed profusely when Frodo laughed out loud.

"Yes."

"I ain't been dropping no eaves, sir my ass! I knew it!" I said happily laughing. Everyone except Legolas smiled at my crazy behavior. He is such a party poop! Pointy eared bastard. (hehehe, Bones watch Star Trek people.) Green blooded hobgoblin.

And so the game went on. Sam asked Merry if he's ever stolen Gandalf's fireworks, which he adamantly denied. Merry asked Pippin a question. Pippin asked Gimli a question, and so on and so forth. Everyone chose truth, up until Gimli asked Legolas truth or dare.

"Dare." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Shouldn't've done that," I sang in a sing songy voice. Then Legolas raised an eyebrow at me. "Hey!" I cried. "Don't steal my signature move!"

"Alright elf-boy," growled Gimli. "I dare you to get up, do a jig and then sing that dwarves are better than elves." Legolas' face paled even more than how pale it was to begin with. I saw him swallow nervously.

"I meant to say truth," he stated. I grinned at him evilly.

"No takesies backsies!" I sang. "You said dare, you have to do the dare! And if you don't do Gimli's dare, I'll make you do an even worse dare! Your choice elf boy."Legolas shook his head.

"I will not disgrace my race," he stated nervously.

"Fine, face the wrath of ARTEMIS!!!" I roared. I sat and thought for a moment before an evil grin spread over my face. "Oh I have a good one. Okay, this is your last chance to take up Gimli's dare." Legolas shook his head fiercely. "Fine, your choice. Drum roll please!" I said playing my air drums.

"I dare Legolas to kiss Aragorn!" Both men's face paled.

"On the lips."

The entire Fellowship (minus Leggy and Aragorn) burst out into laughter, Gimli laughing loudest of all. I felt so evil, it was brilliant! After we finished wiping the tears of hilarity from our eyes we all sat in silence staring at the two, waiting. Then slowly Merry and Pippin began to chant.

"Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!!!" I nearly died laughing, considering no one but me got the double meaning of those words.

"C'mon guys!" I said pushing Leggy towards Aragorn, who flinched. "What happens in the Fellowship stays in the Fellowship!"

Legolas and Aragorn both looked pleadingly at Gandalf, asking for some sanity, but for once, Gandalf was laughing and was on our side.

"Gandalf, please tell them to stop this madness!"Aragorn pleaded.

"You agreed to play the game!" he chortled. "As Artemis so elegantly puts it, no takesies backsies!"

"Kiss him, Leggy, or I'll make you kiss him, and trust me, you don't want that to happen," I threatened, trying not to laugh.

Finally, with a repulsed look on his face, Legolas inched forward toward Aragorn, who had an equally disgusted look on his face. We watched as Legolas, very reluctantly (I know he was just loving it deep down inside!) close the space between their lips. They barely touched before Legolas pulled back extremely quickly, then darted to the side of the mountain and vomited. Aragorn looked like he was going to be sick as well. I was having a brilliant time! Legolas finally reappeared, looking very pale. This was fun, this was a fun time. But the elf had an evil look in his eye, and I got just a little nervous. He sat down as though nothing had happened.

"So," he nanced. "It is my turn now." I gulped nervously; time to pay for my evilness. "Are there any restrictions at all on what we can ask or dare the person to do?" he asked.

"No," I said regretting the words at once.

"Artemis," he glared. "Truth or dare."

"Truth," I said confidently. He didn't know anything about me, so he shouldn't be able to come up with a very revealing question.

"What were you doing last night-" he asked. I paled. Oh crap. "-with a certain Gondorian?" The entire Fellowship (minus me, Leggy, and said Gondorian) gasped in unison. Shiitake mushrooms.

"And if you don't answer, then you have to do a dare," said Legolas with an air of superiority. But the damage was already done. I still didn't want to have to admit that Boromir kissed me, so I figured that I could lie it out.

"I was talking with him, keeping him company on his night watch," I said confidently, my voice not wavering as I stared Legolas in the eye.

"What else?" he asked. I glared daggers at him. Stupid fucking Elven hearing. I suppose I deserve this, though. Poor Aragorn, having to have Leggy kiss him! Ew.

"Nothing," I said staring him in the eye. "We just talked." Merry leaned over and whispered to Pippin,

"I think they did more than talk from the way Boromir's blushing."

"You know I can hear you, Merry. What are you? A gossiping teenage girl?"

"Let's put it to a vote," said Legolas. "How many people think Artemis deserves a dare?" Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gandalf all raised their hands. I glared at the hobbits and the old man.

"Traitors," I hissed at them.

"Who wants to come up with a wonderful dare for Ar?" Legolas announced his eyes glinting with vengeance.

"I have one," said Merry and I glared at him with that look that says 'shut-up-or-else-I'm-going-to-kill-you.' Unfortunately, he didn't listen. "Ar has to kiss Gimli!" I shrugged, that's not that bad. "For at least ten seconds." Ew. "On the lips." Dammit. Stupid democracy.

The whole Fellowship minus me and Gimli started laughing hysterically at the thought. Gimli started huffing about how he didn't want to, that it wasn't fair, he didn't like me like that, yadda yadda yadda. I rolled my eyes and figured I might as well get it over with. I leaned toward Gimli and forced myself to think it was Boromir I was leaning toward. It kinda worked, until my lips actually hit his. Don't ever kiss a dwarf, it's icky. Unless you're also a dwarf, but even then it's probably still icky. Gimli wasn't the most hygienic person, ewwwww. I counted speedily to ten in my head, and then pulled back as quickly as possible. Gimli looked green in the face, and I could imagine my expression wasn't too far off of his. I wiped my lips trying to get any trace of Gimli gone. I mean, I like Gimli and all, but he's more of an uncle figure, not lover. Ew.

"Well," I said to the silent members of the Fellowship who were all looking at me in shock that I actually did it. "That was unpleasant. But now it's my turn." All of the members of the Fellowship paled a little. I grinned evilly. "Legolas," I said. "Truth or dare." He sneered a little at me.

"Truth."

"Okay then, if you had to choose between Aragorn, Gandalf, and Boromir to get it on with, who would you choose?" I asked trying to hold back and evil laugh that was just dying to escape. Aragorn and Boromir blushed profusely and I made a mental fist punch in the air. I had made not one, but two fully grown men blush! BWAHAHAHAHA! I was feeling evil, what can I say? Gandalf just sat there not reacting at all, like he had expected that I would ask this question. Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Sam, and Gimli all started laughing hysterically. I shushed them and turned to an extremely pale Legolas for an answer. "So, who is it?"

"None," he answered. "They're all men."

"Doesn't matter, you still have to choose!" I said. All of the hobbits were on the edge of their seats looking like they were about to burst into laughter again. Even Frodo, the angsty depressed one was having a good time. I smiled a little, happy that everyone was enjoying themselves at least a little.

"Um…" Legolas stammered, blushing so that he was as red as a beet.

"Speak up," I said. "Don't be shy. Remember, what happens in the Fellowship-"

"Stays in the Fellowship!" chirped the hobbits in unison.

"Uhm…" Legolas said again. Then he muttered something under his breath that no one could hear.

"What was that?"

"Aragorn." I stared wide eyed at him, then burst out in a fit of giggles. Somehow I managed to say,

"Care to elaborate?"Legolas glared at me. There seemed to be a lot of glaring and paling going around during this game.

"I already had to kiss him, so still, ew." I started laughing like crazy again, so did the rest of the Fellowship. Even Aragorn gave a little chuckle. But now I knew I was going to have to face the wrath of Legolas next.

"My turn," he said. "Artemis, truth or dare?"

"Um… don't you think that it's unfair that we just keep going back and forth? No one else has had a turn!"

"Nah!" said Merry. "It's more fun to watch you guys fight. Plus you are Legolas come up with the best questions!"

"Grrrr," I grrrrr-ed at him. He just laughed.

"Truth or dare?" he asked again.

"Truth," I mumbled, not wanting to have to kiss any other member of the Fellowship. Well, maybe Boromir…

"If you had to choose between Gandalf, Boromir, and Aragorn to get it on with, who would you choose?" he asked with an evil grin.

"Boromir," I said not skipping a beat. I got some wide eyed stares again.

"Care to elaborate?" he mimicked.

"Yeah," I said confidently. "Aragorn's taken. Gandalf, no offense, is old. Boromir is single. Simple math," I said. Legolas glared, not having had the effect he had wanted. I smiled serenely at him.

"Now," I said. "To switch it up, I'm going to NOT choose Legolas, because I'm not a pissy elf like him." Legolas glared at me again. And so the game went on, including a few surprise kisses between the hobbits, and some disturbing details of Gandalf's personal life that I could have lived without. Overall, the game was really fun. But then it was time to get some rest, and we all lay down to sleep with sore cheeks from smiling and aching sides from laughing. All the hobbits huddled together, and I was next to Boromir who was next to Legolas and Gimli, who were trying to put as much space between them as possible. Beside Gimli was Gandalf, and Aragorn kept watch over us all. I smiled and slowly nodded off into a peaceful sleep.

Boromir's POV

Artemis lay next to me, a few strands of hair falling in her face that flew up every time she breathed out. She was very beautiful and very funny as well. I have a feeling that the Fellowship's journey was going to be much more interesting now that she was here. After all, that truth or dare game had been rather fun. I don't think Legolas enjoyed it much though, poor bloke. Artemis didn't really like him for some unknown reason.

When she had kissed Gimli, I had felt something tug at my gut that I had never felt before. It was unpleasant and made me want to throw something against the wall. But it didn't feel like anger; I don't know what it was. Oh well, Artemis didn't look like she had enjoyed it much; the expression on her face had been extremely amusing.

I looked to her now sleeping form. There was a small smile on her lips, and she curled up to my side, burying her face in my chest. I froze in shock not knowing what to do. I should pull away, but she looked so happy. It felt so right with her lying next to me. I slowly, unsurely placed an arm around her, drawing her closer to me. I heard her sigh happily. I smiled, slowly nodding off into a weary sleep.

I woke up suddenly. The sky was still dark, but the sun was just hinting over the horizon. I looked around; Aragorn was sleeping, Legolas now on guard duty. Then I became aware of a small body draped around mine. I blinked sleep out of my eyes and looked down. Artemis' face was buried in the crook of my neck, and her leg was draped over my hip, my arms were protectively wrapped around her waist. I stared in shock. This was completely ungentlemanly and against every moral I had ever been taught. For heaven's sake, I wasn't even courting the girl! I had known her a little less than a week! But I didn't want to pull away. Her body fit perfectly against mine, and her face was the image of an angel, so beautiful and calm. I didn't want to disturb her, I wanted to stay like this, never let her go.

But people would be getting up soon, and I couldn't let someone (like Legolas) find her like this, wrapped around me. We would never hear the end of it. So very carefully I extracted myself from her embrace, hating the loss of the feeling of her in my arms. She groaned a little in her sleep, sensing the feeling of loss. I smiled a little, brushing the stray hairs out of her face and tucking them behind her ear. Then I stood up, knowing that everyone was to wake soon and we would need to get going right away if we didn't want to be hit by a snow storm. I sighed taking one last look at Ar's sleeping form before going over to Legolas to start the day.

Artemis's POV

I had been having a pleasant dream. I had been watching the Fellowship of the Rings, and at Amon Hen, Boromir had hacked off Lurtz's head, saving Merry and Pippin from almost certain doom. And I had been there as well. After he had delivered the final blow to the stinking uruk-hai, Boromir had run over to me. He leaned in and just as our lips were about to touch, he jerked suddenly falling to the ground with an arrow sprouting from his back. The loss of warmth and comfort he had provided was gone, and he lay on the ground, blood seeping from his wounds. I stared in horror as the uruk-hai that had shot the arrow charged towards me. He was almost there, bow raised, arrow aimed-

And then I woke up. There was cold sweat pouring down my back. I was shivering cold. I shook my head; it was just a dream. Only a dream. Boromir was still alive. I looked to my side and saw an empty blanket. Boromir was gone. I started panicking. No, he's not dead, I told myself. He's just left for a second. I looked around frantically. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the Gondorian over by Legolas, looking like he was about to cook some breakfast. Thank god! I had been silly to worry; nothing could happen to him yet… I had just been having a nightmare, that's all. I shook my head, now feeling extremely stupid for having thought that something had happened this early in the story.

Oh well. Better get up for the journey through the stupid snow storm and avalanche. Oh joy.

I was out of breath and sore to the bone when Legolas pranced by on top of the snow.

"There's a fell voice on the air!" he yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"No fucking way!" I mumbled sarcastically.

"It's Saruman!" cried Gandalf. I knew what was coming next, and wasn't very keen on getting buried under ten feet of snow. I stopped and pressed myself as flat as I could against the mountain side.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" I yelled. "Get against the walls now!" The Fellowship flattened themselves as far away from the edge of the cliff as they could. A loud echoing voice boomed through the air. I covered myself the best I could with my cloak and waited for it. 3…2…1…0.

I couldn't see; I couldn't breathe. Snow was crushing my lungs as I gasped for air. I would've tried desperately to claw my way out, but there was one problem. I couldn't move at all. I began to panic. It was so cold; I couldn't feel much of my body anymore. I might as well be an icicle. I tried to yell "help" but it came out more like a muffled "hmpgt!" I doubt anyone could hear me. A hot tear trickled down my face. I wasn't going to be killed off this early, was I? I wanted to see the rest of the adventure, and more importantly save Boromir. This could not be my fate! Please! Anyone, just anyone save me.

Suddenly, my world went from dark to bright. I gasped; cold winter air biting at my lungs. I blinked snow out of my eyes and saw Boromir and Aragorn tugging desperately, trying to get me out of the snow. I struggled to help them with the little strength I had left. After much effort, I was somehow sitting on top of the avalanche. Gandalf and Legolas were starting to debate if we should brave the mountain or not.

"We could go through the mines of Moria!" said Gimli as Boromir helped me to my feet. I murmured a word of thanks, pleased by the fact that I was still alive. I sneezed violently just as Gimli announced his idea to go through the mines of Moria.

"Let the Ring-bearer decide," he said grimly.

"We shall go through the mines," said Frodo after a moment of thought. I grimaced. I know that Moria is now a graveyard, but I shuddered to think of the nasty stench of decaying flesh coming anywhere near my nose. So we made our way back down the godforsaken mountain. I was extremely cold, even with the two extra coats. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of the mountain.

We finally reached the base, and then headed in the direction of Moria. As much as I thought that I was going to hate all this walking around, I actually kind of enjoyed it. I got to hang out with characters that I knew inside and out, and they got to know me! It was so cool!

I found out that Frodo was rather shy compared to Merry and Pippin (who are anything but shy), and that Sam really likes potatoes. He would go on and on about them! It wasn't just that one line from Return of the King. No. Sam constantly talks about potatoes at every chance he gets!

Aragorn would always be walking ahead with Gandalf, looking just as scrumptious, if not more than in the movie. And Gandalf was hunched over, hobbling along very well for a man of his age. Then again, he wasn't a man at all. He was a wizard, and don't let his outer appearance fool you. He is a kickass warrior.

Legolas always stood to the side of the group, and Gimli was always on the farthest point away from the elf that he could get. I chuckled to myself, knowing that one day they were to be great friends.

As for me and Boromir, well, we just pretended like he hadn't kissed me at all, and that I hadn't had an emotional breakdown. But I couldn't get that kiss off my mind. I had been kissed before by other guys, but Boromir's kiss made theirs seem rather dull in comparison. A small smile crept on my face as I reminisced.

"What's making you smile so?" came a very familiar voice. I glanced over at Boromir as he slowed his pace and walked at my side.

"Oh nothing," I said, forcing the smile into a neutral expression. "I just can't really believe that I'm here. That I'm a part of the Fellowship! It's so unreal."

"I'm still having trouble believing that you know what is to come. What is a movie again?" he asked, grinning at me as I groaned. He knew how I hated explaining what movies are, though I'm pretty sure he understood them now. He just liked to antagonize me.

"You bloody know what a movie is by now, Boromir," I grumbled. "Why not ask me something else?"

"Okay…" he said. "Um… what's your family like?" I shrugged.

"My mom and dad are cool, but my older sister's evil. I wish that my sister was like you, and that I was like Faramir. You guys are such good friends! I never could understand when people would say that their sister was their best friend. Mine's my worst enemy. That's one of the reason's I'm so happy to be here. I don't have to deal with her. Although, I do miss my mum and dad terribly… I wonder if I'll ever go back to my world. Will I be stuck here even when the story's over?"

"I don't know what will happen in the future, but let's make good with the present, shall we?"

"Agreed," I said, stumbling over a root.

As soon as I felt myself falling I thought, 'Crap. This is gonna hurt.' I closed my eyes and braced myself for impact, but the expected pain never came. I cautiously opened my eyes. Boromir was holding me very firmly from hitting the ground. I let out a ragged breath that I didn't know I had been holding. He helped me regain my balance, then let go of me very quickly, as though he had been burned.

"Thanks," I said.

"Not at all," he replied, and we walked in awkward silence, as a blush began to creep up my cheeks.

We walked until the sun went down, going over various terrain. I got a few cuts on my cheeks from trying to climb through a bush or two. We set up camp again, this time it was much warmer than on the mountain. No one wanted to play truth or dare again. I huffed disappointed. I tried to teach the hobbits how to play rock paper scissors, but it didn't work, seeing as scissors didn't exist in this world. Or at least hobbits had never heard of them. Hm… ah well. So I taught them thumb wars; bad idea, Merry and Pippin went crazy with it. They made me laugh a lot though, so it wasn't a completely bad thing. After a while the hobbits dropped off to sleep one by one. Soon I was the only one left awake, besides Gandalf who was on night watch. I didn't feel like talking to him though, stupid man always talks in riddles. I still didn't believe him that I was an Elithicon. I mean, I read all the books, and never once did JRR Tolkien mention them! I was bored, and for some reason I couldn't fall asleep. So I started sing softly to myself.

"_You with the sad eyes,_

_Don't be discouraged._

_Thought I realize,_

_It's hard to take courage,_

_In a world full of people,_

_You can lose sight of it all._

_And the darkness inside you,_

_Can make you feel so small._

_And I see your true colors,_

_Shining through,_

_I see your true colors,_

_And that's why I love you._

_So don't be afraid to let them show,_

_Your true colors,_

_True colors,_

_True colors,_

_Are beautiful,_

_Like a rainbow…_

_Show me a smile then,_

_Don't be unhappy._

_Can't remember when I, _

_Last saw you laughing._

_If this world makes you crazy,_

_And you're taking all you can get._

_Just call me up, _

_And you know I'll be there._

_And I see your true colors,_

_Shining through,_

_I see your true colors,_

_And that's why I love you._

_So don't be afraid to let them show,_

_Your true colors,_

_True colors,_

_True colors,_

_Are beautiful…"_

"You have a beautiful voice." I whipped my head around looking for the source of the voice. It was Aragorn.

"Hey," I said smiling. "Sorry again about making Leggy kiss you." Aragorn's face twisted with disgust.

"That was wrong on so many levels," he said shuddering and taking a seat next to me.

"I really am sorry!" I said; I did actually feel bad about it. I mean, it's Legolas. Ew. "I'm still convinced Legolas is gay though…" Aragorn chuckled at my intense dislike of the elf.

"That song you were singing," he said. "I've never heard anything like it before. Is it from your world?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's-" I started. "Hey! Wait, what? How did you know?"

"Gandalf told me," he smirked. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Is that why you came over here, to gloat that your trustworthy to Gandalf and that he tells you everything?" I huffed slumping down in my seat.

"Actually no," he said. "I came to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" I asked.

"Boromir," he said. I looked at him. "I know you think that he is a good man, and he is. But his vision is clouded."

"That's why I'm here. To wave away the mist," I retorted.

"The wall of smoke clouding his judgment is permanent, Artemis. You must know this. His vision is warped," Aragorn tried.

"His vision is clouded only because of the Ring and his father's stupid opinions. I believe there is hope for him."

"I have to disagree," he said.

There is always hope if there is but one fool willing to fight for it," I glared at him.

"Artemis, I do not mean to become your enemy. Actually you are quite entertaining to have with the Fellowship, but I do not want to see you get hurt," he said.

"What are you, my mother?" I asked. "Siriusly. If you're going to give me advice, I'm going to give you some too."

"Fair enough," he said. "Take your best shot."

"Fine. If you happen to meet a blonde maiden, and she knows how to fight, and she's from Rohan, go for her. She's human, not immortal. Don't rob Arwen of an immortal life." If you can't tell, I am not a fan of Arwen/Aragorn. She's annoying, and her voice sounds weird. She lets her father tell her what to do and can't even handle a sword. I mean, in the movie she had a sword rescuing Frodo, but in the book she doesn't even save Frodo! Glorfindel saves Frodo! Stupid Arwen. Eowyn is a much better match for him. Aragorn frowned at me.

"You know nothing of Arwen," he said harshly.

"Hey, dude, don't get all pissed at me. I'm allowed to have my opinion on the she-elf. Think about it, Aragorn. Why do you love her?" I asked. He sat there.

"She's a beautiful strong elf, she's smart and loyal, and she is a dear friend," he said.

"First of all, she isn't strong. She lets her dad push her around until halfway through the third movie. And even then he still has some hold over her opinions. She doesn't really have a mind of her own. Yeah, she's smart, but so are all elves. She didn't really have to work for it. And she isn't loyal, well, kinda. See, a little bit in the future, Elrond convinces her to go to the undying lands. She almost gets to the boat, and then she turns around. If she was really loyal to you, she would've never left Rivendell to begin with. As for the Evenstar, she gave that to you to symbolize her undying loyalty, right? Again, she left Rivendell to leave you so she wouldn't have to bear the pain of you dying one day. If she truly loved you, she would understand that being with you while she can is better than not being with you at all. And as for her being your friend. Think about it this way, I'm your friend, right? Well, you don't want to go marry me, now do you? All of the other reasons you like her are shot, so come up with another good reason that you want to marry her besides the fact that she's pretty. Find a girl who can make you laugh and would even follow you into battle to the death. Not one who leaves cuz her dad says so." Aragorn just stared at me.

"What?" I asked. "You gave me your advice, I give you mine."

"Why do you make me question these things?" he asked.

"It's simply a power I possess," I said. "And if you happen to listen to my advice, introduce Arwen to Faramir one day. Yeah… maybe that would work out."

"Sure…" said Aragorn not really paying attention to my words. He was deep in thought. I shrugged, and decided I was done talking. My eyelids started drooping and before I knew it I was asleep.

The next day, Aragorn was unusually quiet, and I saw him fingering the Evenstar a couple times. Oops, Gandalf told me not to change anyone's paths, but c'mon. I hate Arwen! How could I let Aragorn be married to that harpy?! Plus Eowyn's really cool, and I still think Aragorn really liked her. I don't think that my persuasion could alter the rest of the story, except maybe make it less complicated. Hmm, ah well. Who cares about potentially messing up the timeline and starting a chain reaction that might doom the fate of man?

We kept walking the whole day; I was beginning to get tired of this. My feet were definitely aching and my legs felt as if they would fall off at any minute. But we kept going. Endless and endless walking. I was about to fall asleep I was so tired. Being extremely bored, I started singing another song to myself.

"_In this world you tried  
Not leaving me alone behind.  
There's no other way.  
I prayed to the gods let him stay.  
The memories ease the pain inside,  
Now I know why._

All of my memories keep you near.  
In silent moments imagine you here.  
All of my memories keep you near.  
Your silent whispers, silent tears.

Made me promise I'd try  
To find my way back in this life.  
I hope there is a way  
To give me a sign you're ok.  
Reminds me again it's worth it all  
So I can go on.

All of my memories keep you near.  
In silent moments imagine you here.  
All of my memories keep you near.  
Your silent whispers, silent tears.

Together in all these memories  
I see your smile.  
All the memories I hold dear.  
Darling, you know I will love you  
Til' the end of time.

All of my memories keep you near.  
In silent moments imagine you here.  
All of my memories keep you near.  
Your silent whispers, silent tears.

All my memories..."

"Why did you threaten us with your singing, when you have such a lovely voice?" I blinked, turning my head to see who was talking. It was Boromir. I smiled.

"Thanks, but I'm not really that good," I said. "This happened yesterday too. I was just singing to myself, and then I had an unexpected audience of Aragorn. Now there's another less person I can threaten with my awful singing." He smiled.

"Your voice is beautiful," he said. "What song is it you were singing? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with it."

"It's a song from my universe," I said. "By a group called Within Temptation. I would give anything to have my iPod here, so I could show you all the songs I love."

"What's an eye pod?" he asked. I rolled my eyes. Here we go again.

"It's a really small device that can carry around songs that have been recorded. Sort of like movies, but instead of with actors and their movements, it's with singers and their voices." Boromir looked confused. "Just forget I ever said anything."

"What music do you like?" he asked.

"Do you guys have musicals and stuff on Middle Earth?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "They're like plays, but with songs."

"In my universe, there's a city called New York City. And in NYC, there's a thing called Broadway, which is basically a reference of all the musicals and plays ever made. They have many stages, and actors and actresses can become famous if they get a leading role in the musicals. I love Broadway music, because the song can be about anything. It can be about Dancing through Life, to the Music of the Night! It was my dream to be on Broadway and become a famous actress…"

"You definitely have the talent," he said. I smiled sadly at him.

"Thank you," I said. "But I'll probably never get back home. I'll never get to be on Broadway…"

"One day, you might make it back. And when you do, you'll be the most famous actress there ever was," he said encouragingly. I gave him a huge smile.

"You really think so?" I asked.

"I know so," he said. I smiled again, and began to idly play with the frayed edge of my cloak. I didn't even notice my surroundings until Gimli announced that we had reached the walls of Moria. My head snapped up as I heard the words.

There they were; huge and stony walls of Moria. I shuddered as the great black lake made its way into my sight. I envisioned giant tentacles towering above us and writhing and churning up the waters. Maybe, I could stop Pippin and Merry from throwing the rocks… maybe. Or would it hinder our path through Moria? I didn't fancy encountering the giant cephalopod, but I definitely didn't want to mess up the journey. If the monster didn't attack, then would we even travel through Moria at all? And Gandalf wouldn't face the balrog, and become Gandalf the White. Maybe I could convince them the go through the mines without having to battle the tentacles of doom…

We passed quietly around the shore of the lake. I kept glancing nervously at the lake. Boromir eyed me curiously. We arrived at the invisible door, which with Gandalf's help, became visible in the moonlight.

"Speak friend and enter," he said. "Well, it's simple enough. If you are a friend you speak the password and the gates should open." I rolled my eyes and plopped onto the ground as Gandalf began chanting impressively in Elvish. Couldn't I just help them along? No. I answered myself. Too risky of messing up the Fellowship. Maybe after a while, I could prod Gandalf or Frodo in the right direction.

_PLUNK._

Oh, shit. With eyes wide as tennis balls, I slowly looked toward the source of the plopping noise. I gazed horrified at the disturbed waters, and at Pippin and Merry who seemed very happy that they had managed to throw rocks that large that far.

"No!" I cried. "Do not disturb the water!" I ran to the hobbits and caught Pippin's hand just as he was about to throw another rock.

"Why?" he asked frowning.

"We do not know of what evil lurks beneath the surface of the deep," I whispered gravely. I figured I had waited long enough. The octopus of doom would be coming at us any second now, and that meant we had to get into Moria NOW.

"Hang on!" I said. "I think I've got it! It's a riddle. Speak 'friend' and enter! That means that it literally wants us to speak the word friend." I walked right up to the doors. "_Mellon_."

As soon as the words had left my lips, the doors scraped open.

"Brilliant," muttered Gandalf. "Who knew dwarfish doors could be so misleading!"

We all walked into the mines, Gimli ranting of the splendors of Moria. I had walked only two feet in, and then the stench hit me. Rotting flesh is one of the more unpleasant smells you can ever sniff in your entire lifetime. The movie never really described how a million rotting corpses would smell, but my eyes started to water as I choked for air.

"This is no mine," said Boromir gravely.

"It's a tomb," I finished. Then right on cue, Frodo screamed and was dragged away by a giant tentacle. Holy hellfire, was that tentacle huge and nasty looking! I unsheathed my sword, and grimaced at the disgusting, creepy cephalopod.

Suddenly, my body took control of my actions again. It was like having an out of body experience. I saw myself hacking and stabbing, trying to free a poor terrified Frodo. An arrow whizzed by my ear, and I saw the little bugger hit its mark, meaning the very creepy eye of the octopus thingy. The monster roared and reeled back, and my arms swung with all their might at the tentacle holding Frodo. To my utter surprise, my sword made a clean cut through, and Frodo fell. Good news, Frodo was free. Bad news, he happened to fall on me. And I wasn't able to catch him. Frodo crashed down on me, and he and I were submerged in water. I couldn't breathe. I fought to sit up, pulling Frodo with me. More bad news, just as I was nearing the shore with Frodo, a giant tentacle shot out and wrapped around my waist, tugging me back toward the lake.

"HELP!" I screamed. "SOMEBODY HELP!" It was very hard to draw breath now; the tentacle had a firm, crushing grip on my abdomen, and it felt like my ribs could crack at any moment. Through my panic, I saw Legolas shooting at the thrashing arms of the beast.

"LEGOLAS! AIM FOR THE HEAD, AIM FOR THE EYES!" I cried desperately. Legolas heard me (thank god for Elven hearing!) and he quickly fired more arrows at the head. Just as I thought I couldn't draw one more breath, I felt the grip loosen on my body, and I was falling. I screamed and closed my eyes, waiting to hit the cold water with a hard splash, but the impact on water never came. I fell into a pair of strong arms that held me to their chest, and began pulling its way toward shore. I opened my eyes and looked up to see a sopping wet Boromir, with a determined, grim expression on his face, fighting his way through perilous waters toward shore, with me in his arms, clutched protectively to his chest.

Suddenly, the battle going on around me seemed to disappear. Though screams pierced the air, my world was clouded in silence. All I saw was Boromir, fighting through the water, and holding me like he was afraid that I would break at the slightest touch. Yet his embrace circled me in protection, and his embrace was not gentle. It was fierce; it was caring and defensive. All I saw was him, even as a chunk of disembodied tentacle hit me smack in the face. I was entranced by what I saw; the look on his face was captivating. I know this all sounds very mushy and corny, but you've never understood entrancement until you've seen Boromir the way I have. He was beautiful, but deadly. Anyone who so much as opposes to him in this state would be better off dead. If you could see his eyes you would understand. They were not their usual misty gray, like the sea after a storm. No, they were the storm. And they were just as wild and untamed as the sea. In his eyes, I could see lightning clash and thunder roll. In his eyes, I saw a fierce determination.

And then, all too soon, we reached the shore. It was like someone had suddenly unmuted the television when it was on high. Loud cries and yells suddenly filled my ears, and Boromir set me down on my feet. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the mines with the rest of the Fellowship. Huge monstrous arms coiled around the walls and crushed the rock in its mighty grasp. We only just made it into the mines far enough, as the cave behind us collapsed. I coughed as the air was filled with dirt and rubble. It was absolute darkness. I clutched terrified to Boromir's robes. Darkness unnerved me. Bad things come out of the darkness; it is evil in itself. Darkness was one of the only things that truly scared me. I could handle a dark room with like, just a candle lit. But complete and total darkness, no sign of light at all? Hell no. I was terrified of darkness like that.

"We have but one choice," said Gandalf as he lit his staff. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world."

It was then that I became acutely aware that I was still in Boromir's arms, clutching tightly to the front of his clothes. With the recent shedding of light, I was no longer afraid. My eyes widened as I realized how close Boromir was to me. I sprang away from him. He couldn't think that I was some frail, defenseless woman! How could I let him make me be weak! I am not weak. I just don't like the dark, that's all. I hurried up and fell into pace with Gandalf, leaving a very bewildered Boromir with empty arms behind. My hand tightened its grip on the hilt of my sword, just in case there was a surprise orc attack not mentioned in the book or shown in the movie.

"Quietly now. It's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed," he said as we made our way up the stairs, stepping over half decomposed dwarf bodies. I felt horrible for Gimli, to have found out his family was dead like this. It was terrible. And he hadn't even had his suspicions confirmed that his own cousin, Balin was dead as well yet. My heart went out to the dwarf, though he had not yet faced the worst grief to come.

We traveled through the foul smelling caves and darkness. The smell of rotting flesh was everywhere. Skeletons of fallen dwarfs were littered everywhere, some more gruesome than others, showing how much brutality an orc can hold. Every minute or so I would have to suppress my gag reflex when we would come upon a more devastating scene of decomposing bodies. It was horrid. That's the only word that can truly describe the journey through Moria. There was no fresh air; there was no sun. There was dim light and dank air. There was no source of comfort here in the deepest places of this world. We walked through Moria, as quietly as possible. The darkness of Moria was haunting, more haunting than you could ever imagine.

We had just climbed a particularly steep slope of stairs littered with dead bodies, when Gandalf spoke again. I had been so focused on not falling and dying, or throwing up then falling and dying that I didn't even notice what part of the story we had gotten to until he spoke.

"I have no memory of this place."

'Yes!' I cheered in my head. 'We get to sit down and rest!' But of course everyone else was worried that Gandalf had led us in here to our deaths. I didn't need to worry, for I knew the outcome of the story, so ha! We all fell to the ground in a tired heap and someone went and started up a fire to my delight. By some happy chance, Boromir came and sat down next to me. Butterflies started to tap dance in my stomach when he brushed his shaggy blonde hair out of his face, and turned to look at me. _Mental slap! Stop staring at him!_

"So," I said making conversation. "How's it going?"

"Disgustingly," he said. I grimaced.

"Just try to breathe through your mouth, not your nose. You won't smell all the decay as badly."

"I know," he said. "But it still doesn't make the sickening quality of our lodgings go away."

"Yeah," I said. "I know what you mean. Every time I see a decimated body, I just want to throw up. The movie nor book never really portrayed how terrible smelling or ghastly this place is."

"So what happens next?" he whispered.

"Oh, no you don't," I said. "Don't try to trick me into telling you the story before its run its course. I won't very well tell you, so don't ask."

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Now shh!" I said. "I want to hear this part." He looked at me questioningly, but I just turned my attention to Merry and Pippin.

"Are we lost?" asked Pippin.  
"No," answered Merry.

"I think we are."  
"Shh. Gandalf's thinkin'."  
"Merry?"  
"What?"  
"I'm hungry."

I stifled a laugh, trying to make it seem as though I had a bad cough, but I couldn't conceal my smile. Boromir grinned at me, having heard the entire conversation between the two hobbits.

"Without my help, you wouldn't have even paid attention to that funny little bit," I whispered to him.

"It was indeed humorous," he said. "Hobbits always think with their stomachs, do they not?"

"Dude," I said. "You have got to lighten up with the wording! No one will be able understand you if you talk like that! You gotta say, 'It was really funny,' and, 'Hobbits always think with their stomachs, _don't_ they?'"

"What are these words you say? _Gotta_? _Dude_?" he asked confused.

"Gotta is slang for 'got to.' And dude is like slang for someone who is your friend," I said shrugging (forgive me for saying dude too much, I was born in California, so I kind of have an excuse. Not really... oh well, on with the story!)

"You consider us friends?" he asked. I blushed deeply; after all, I had known him much longer than he had known me.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "Sorry if you don't think that we are…"

"No!" he said hurriedly. "I do indeed consider us friends; it's just that I didn't know that you really thought of me as a friend, _dude_." I snorted loudly; I mean c'mon! Boromir, Steward of Gondor just called me a dude!

"Yes, yes, _dude_," I said putting emphasis on the word. "We are friends." I smiled at him and he grinned back.

"Oh!" came Gandalf's voice pleasantly. "It's that way!"

"He's remembered!" said Merry.

"No," said Gandalf, "but the air doesn't smell so foul here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." And so we traveled down the stairwell, where indeed the air didn't smell as bad of rotting corpses.

"Let me risk a little more light," said Gandalf as we reached the bottom. The stone in his staff glowed brighter, casting light into the unending darkness. Slowly, giant pillars and archways came into sight. My jaw dropped.

"Behold the great realm and Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf."

"There's an eye-opener, and no mistake," said Sam in awe. I nodded dumbly. The movie and book did no justice to how magnificent and huge the city was. If there had been an abundance of light, I would not have believed that we were underground. We must be extremely deep into the earth's crust for the ceilings to be so tall. We made our way down the great halls, staring awestruck at the amazing sight before us. Suddenly, I heard a cry of anguish.

"Gimli!" Gandalf called after the fleeing dwarf. Oh dear, the tomb of Balin met my eyes as we followed him into the room. My heart wrenched in my chest as I heard Gimli's sobs of agony. I walked over to Gimli, kneeling on one knee in front of his cousin's grave. I put a hand on his shoulder, and before I knew it, he had pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, the poor guy. One of his worst worries had been confirmed, part of his family had died. A huge part of his entire race had been wiped out.

"It's gonna be okay, Gimli," I said quietly.

"Here lies Balin, Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," Gandalf read the epitaph gravely. "He is dead then." Gimli sobs shook his entire body, while I patted him sort of lamely on the back; I didn't know what to do, he was so distressed. "It's as I'd feared." Gandalf spotted the old skeleton holding the record book, and he picked it up, pages falling out as he did. He handed his staff and hat to Pippin, then deftly flipped it open to the last entry, and I shivered looking at it, but not from the cold.

"Me must move on; we cannot linger," Legolas said to Aragorn. I was at war with myself. I didn't fancy an orc attack, but we needed to be attacked by orcs to reveal Frodo's mithril, and to get attacked by the balrog in the end, which would ultimately result in Gandalf the Gray transforming into Gandalf the White. So I shouldn't stop Pippin from knocking the skeleton into the hole, but I really, really, really didn't want to get attacked by orcs. They are freaky, nasty beings and I wasn't keen to encounter them at all. I groaned internally; I knew I had to let Pippin be stupid or the entire quest could be put at risk. Dammit. Gandalf began reading the page.

"'They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates… but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums… drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming…"

_CRASH._

I cringed as the armored, disembodied head clattered down the stone well. Pippin quailed under Gandalf's furious glare. Suddenly, the entire body, armor and all crashed down into the pit as well, followed by a very loud bucket. It echoed and clanged, alerting anyone who might be in the mines to our presence. At every loud bang, Pippin winced, knowing that he had really screwed up this time. All became silent.

"Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!" scolded Gandalf furiously, snapping the book shut.

_BOOM. BOOM._

I froze in my tracks, terrified. Chills ran up and down my spine, and I gripped the handle of my sword, edging away from the door. Everyone was looking all around, obviously nervous if not scared shitless. I looked at the Sting sword; it was glowing bright blue.

"Orcs!" said Legolas.

Boromir turned and ran to the door looking out. I sprinted after him, pulling him back just as two orc arrows almost impaled his face.

"Get back!" cried Aragorn. "Stay close to Gandalf!" Legolas, Boromir, Aragorn, and lugged the door shut, racing to blockade it with whatever we could find.

"Oh joy," said Boromir sarcastically. "They have a cave troll."

"Dammit," I muttered. "I wanted to say that." Legolas looked at me questioningly, having been the only one to hear me with his extra-super-special senses, before tossing me another ax, which I jammed into the pitiful thing we called a barricade. We backed away from the door, pulling out our weapons as we retreated. Gimli let out a battle cry, readying his axe for battle.

"Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" he roared.

I readied my sword, trying to recount where which orcs were when. I felt oddly welcoming to an attack. I wasn't scared in the slightest now that I was facing the challenge that I had so dreaded to confront. A fire coursed through my veins, and when Legolas shot an orc that had broken through the door, I felt a strange euphoria as the despicable creature let out a disgusting cry as it died.

The orcs broke down the door and swarmed into the chamber. Boromir and I let out battle roars and charged as Aragorn and Legolas shot as many orcs down as they could. I came face to face with an orc and then the seriousness of the situation hit me. Orcs are revolting, ghastly creatures that live by feeding off of other creatures, so wrapped up in their own sin and terribleness that they would kill one another just because they felt like it. And that is what I stood face to face with. It screeched at me tried to stab me with its weapon. My body took control of itself again; I was meeting every blow the orc placed. My arms gave a mighty swing, and the headless body fell to the ground. I wiped sweat from my brow, before my body made me jump at another orc. And so it continued; I got thrown to the floor a bit, but my body just kept getting up. It was like I was watching the entire battle before me without actually participating. I was covered in scrapes and bruises, but no major injuries or flesh wounds. Within minutes I was drenched in sweat and black orc blood with a little of my own red blood mixed in there. I wiped hair out of my eyes, and saw Boromir fighting a particularly powerful orc. My body leapt over dead corpses strewn here and there, racing toward him. Just as the orc was about to kill Boromir, I stabbed him in the back, then pulled out my sword and decapitated him. His decimated body fell to the floor. The trance ended and I stepped over the body, and held out a hand to Boromir, who I helped pull to his feet.

"Thanks," he said stabbing another orc that had attacked him. My sword clanged with my own rival monstrous creature.

"Don't mention it," I managed, before goring the beast. Another orc came at me, but this one was powerful. My body couldn't kill it as easily as the others. I was getting pushed back against the wall, then all of a sudden, I snapped out of the trance. Right at the wrong time. The orc disarmed easily and I stood there helpless, not knowing what to do or how to even handle a sword. He inched toward me and I backed up against the wall. I desperately swung a fist at him, but he caught it and pinned my sleeve to the wall with his dagger. But instead of killing me, which I had been mentally preparing myself for, he inched toward me, grinning evilly. His slimy, scaly hand closed around my throat.

"Go on," he hissed, repulsive breath filling my nostrils. "Scream for help; no one can hear you; no one will save you."

"Go to hell, you bastard!" I spat in his face. Enraged, he hit me across the face, uncut nails dragging across my cheek. Wetness dripped down my neck, and I knew he had drawn blood. I gave him a look of complete and utter loathing.

"My, my," he hissed. "Aren't we a feisty one…" I was about to come up with some clever retort, when that ghastly creature claimed my mouth with his. I shrieked at the sudden contact. It was horrifying; a bloody disgusting tongue shoved its way into my mouth, and I could feel myself beginning to vomit. It smelled terrible, and it was ten times worse than anything I could've ever imagined in my life. I was not going to sit here and let him abuse me like this! I was better than that; I wouldn't just sit here and be weak. I tried to focus through the nausea, which proved difficult, but not impossible. Mustering all my strength and willpower, I kneed the thing in the crotch. He wasn't fazed much because he had armor on down there, so I didn't have that much of an effect on him, just enough to shove him off of me with my other hand. I punched him in the face, and he fell to the ground.

"_HELP!_" I cried, desperately tugging at my trapped arm. "_SOMEBODY BLOODY HELP!_" The orc rose to its feet slowly, more enraged than ever.

"You'll be sorry of that," he screeched, raising his sword. I watched, eyes wide with fear as I prepared to be murdered, but just as the orc brought down his sword, he stopped. Wide eyed, we both looked down at his chest, where a familiar Gondorian blade had sprouted. With a sickening gurgle, the creature fell the ground, shuddered then moved no more. Standing over it was my savior, Boromir. He rushed to my side, wrenching the dagger pinning me to wall out and handing me my sword.

"Thanks," I breathed raggedly.

"Don't mention it," he said before diving back into the battle.

Boromir's POV (Hahaha! I'm, switching it up every once in a while! I'm so evil aren't I?)

With each stroke, I became more and more furious, using brute strength and taking out all my rage on these filthy creatures. These filthy creatures who had touched my Artemis. _My_ Artemis? Since when has she been mine to claim? I thought I had walked into a nightmare when I had sought out Artemis, and that thing was kissing her, touching her. It made me sick with rage; I fought to keep it under control when I killed the orc. Never before had I wanted to mutilate a body… until now. That thing deserved worse than death for his crimes. But for Artemis's sake, I distracted myself with the battle once more. I had heard her cry for help, and the very thought of Artemis's dead body, her frozen heart, never to crack another witty joke, never to mumble sarcastic comments, never to smile that beautiful smile again… it made blood run cold. I had never met a woman like her before; she didn't constantly fawn over me, nor did she ramble on about petty things. She talked to me like an equal, which was refreshing. She could make me laugh and forget things, things like my fear for the fall of Man. Was it because she was so sure of what was to come? No, it was something deeper than that. Though we never spoke of it, the kiss I had given her had been random, and yet so perfect. She was a mystery to me, Artemis was. When I was not in her company, she was always in my thoughts. I couldn't get her off my mind, whether it be her smile or something funny or quite serious she had said earlier. I couldn't bear to lose her; she entranced me like no one ever had before. I couldn't bear to watch her go through pain.

Another orc came at me, but even as I battled the piece of filth, my thoughts never strayed from Artemis. I grew weary, and then I thought of the orc abusing her, and my anger and energy increased by tenfold. She had scrape marks across her face which looked like they had been made by fingernails. I gored another orc. Blood was running down her neck. I decapitated more foul beasts.

Suddenly, the air around me was rent apart. I was covered in dust and rubble, lying on the ground as I looked up in terror at a giant cave troll. Legolas shot it with an arrow, but that just made it mad. I scrambled out of the way as Sam dodged its giant club. I looked around wildly for Artemis.

My heart froze in my chest.

She was lying on the ground a few yards away… and she wasn't moving.

The Songs for you guys who actually care what songs they are, cuz they're awesome:

True Colors, but I don't know who wrote it originally. I like the Ane Brun version, but that's just me.

Memories by Within Temptation (awesome band! :D)

Review please peoples! I love you all! :D


	4. There's a Grief that Can't Be Spoken

THANKS YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! :D

thanks to: Kitty243, Isah Underhill, Song in the woods, dark wraith, SongsOfSpring, Sophie Rostochine, Creamcheese, and Anon

Note: due to some consideration, I have decided to change Artemis's name. For now, her TEMPORARY name shall be Artemis, and her nickname changed from Ar to Ar. If anyone has any suggestions for names because they do not like her temporary name, please tell me. Thanks :D

Chapter 4: There's a Grief that Can't Be Spoken

Boromir's POV

"Artemis!" I cried out.

Never before have I been so frightened in my life. Artemis lay on the floor, limbs spread out, eyes closed, chest not moving, a look of peace on her face. I ran to her side, leaping over corpses and rubble as fast as my legs would move.

I couldn't hear the battle around me. I knelt beside her. Ar's face was pale and there was a trickle of blood coming from her mouth. I pulled her into my arms, propping her head up. I pulled off one glove with my teeth and began probing her head for any injuries. I pulled my hand back to see the finger tips dripping and a wet, thick red liquid. I ripped a strip of cloth from my cloak and mopped the back of her head with it, wiping away the blood.

"Artemis, no…" I whispered. "Don't give in, be strong." I heard a great roar from behind me, and whirled around in time to see an orc raise its sword in attack. Suddenly, an arrow sprouted from its mouth and it fell to the stone floor dead. I looked behind him and saw Legolas with his bow drawn.

"Thanks!" I yelled to him. He nodded and headed back into the battle. I knew I couldn't just sit here and become easy targets, so I lifted Artemis into my arms and rose from the ground. Her head lolled back, rolling around as I ran. I wouldn't let her die; I couldn't.

Artemis's POV

The air exploded around me, and I felt everything go dark. I felt no pain, nor anger. I was at peace. I opened my eyes and saw nothing. I tried to move, but I could not. I wasn't even sure if I had a body. My unseeing eyes searched the blackness for any sign of anything: life, light, things.

Suddenly a voice whispered in my ear.

"_Artemis…_" it said. "_Come back… do not give in to the darkness._"

"What?' I thought, not able to speak for I had no body.

"_Suuya wista ata, Ambarenya maure le_…" (Breathe air again, Middle Earth needs you)

Though I had not studied the Elvish tongue I knew what the voice had said. I took a deep breath, and found that I had lungs. I blinked my eyes and found that light was coming back into my vision. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, on waking. I was not going to die, not yet. The world seemed to get brighter behind my eyelids, and sounds of battle reached my ears. Then, all at once, I was back. I could feel the pain in my head, the blood dripping down my cheek. War cries and screams were loud in ears. My head was swaying back and forth, I was being carried by someone; I was lying on the ground no more. My eyes flew open. The gruesome stench of battle filled my nostrils as I struggled to lift my head.

"Artemis!" a voice cried joyously. I looked up and saw Boromir clutching me protectively to his chest.

"What happened?" I asked my mouth dry.

"You were hurt; you're head has been cut badly," he said gravely.

"Nonsense," I said struggling to free myself from his arms. "I'm as right as rain. Now let me down so I can kill some more orcs!"

"No," he said. I glared at him. "You have been hurt too badly."

"It's just a little cut!" I complained. "Now, put me down this instant or I will strangle you in your sleep!" I felt the back of my head; it was sore, but there was no cut. My hair had blood drenched in it, but the cut was nowhere to be found. "I'm not even hurt anymore!"

"You must not fight anymore!" he said dodging an arrow that flew our way.

"Boromir, let me down now," I growled. When he refused I had but one choice. I began flailing and kicking around trying to free myself. Startled though he was, Boromir did not drop me to my deep disappointment. I hit him in the chest with my fist, which did absolutely nothing.

Suddenly a loud cry of pain came from behind us. Boromir whirled around, and I saw Frodo pinned to the wall by the trolls spear. Boromir froze, than looked wide-eyed at him. I just stared grimly at Frodo's body heaped on the ground. With cries of rage, Merry and Pippin leapt on the troll, stabbing it in the shoulders and its back. It reared back, and Legolas shot an arrow through its brain. It groaned, then fell with a sickening thud and moved no more.

Everyone ran, sprinted or crawled to the seemingly dead Frodo's side. Aragorn rolled Frodo over who suddenly breathed in a great gust of air and sat up, rubbing his chest where the troll had struck him.

"He's alive," breathed Sam in relief, and I smiled as the young hobbit sat up.

"I'm all right," he said breathing deeply. "I'm not hurt."

"You should be dead," said Aragorn.

"That spear would've skewered a wild boar," I said, not being able to resist.

"I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye," said Gandalf raising his eyebrows as Frodo pulled open his shirt to reveal the shimmering coat of mithril beneath.

"Mithril…" the dwarf breathed. It was beautiful, mithril was. It shone like beautiful diamonds in the dimmest grimiest light of the cave. I couldn't take my eyes off of it, it was so breathtaking. "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins," chortled Gimli. I grinned softly, but the smile slid off my face as I heard more orcs approaching from down the hall.

"To the Bridge of Khazad-dum," said Gandalf, and we all swiftly began running out of the room and toward the bridge. We sprinted down one of the extraordinarily long cantankerous hallways, but orcs were spilling out of the walls, exploding from the ceiling and crawling down the giant pillars as if they were some sort of large insect. They were awful, horrible nasty creatures, smelling of death and dung. They also had no hearts. They felt nothing but the cruel need to slaughter everything in their paths. These were the creatures that bore down upon us as we were pressed together, back to back, each facing his own nasty proportion of orcs. I readied my sword, not scared of these wicked creatures, but of the monster that was to drive them away.

Slowly, we were encased by orcs, the tips of our swords not a foot from their wretched bodies. And then, just when all hope seemed lost, they scattered. A great rumbling was coming from the end of the hall which was now bathed in a fiery red light. The orcs fled, leaving us to our doom facing the balrog.

"What is this new devilry?" asked Boromir breathlessly. The hall rumbled again as the creature roared. I did not care that they didn't know what it was yet; I was getting out of here. Without waiting for Gandalf to give his lengthy description of a balrog, I started sprinting toward the door which would lead to the Bridge of Khazad-dum.

"You idiots!" I cried back to them as they just stood there, doing nothing. "It's a balrog! Run you fools!" Boromir then darted after me, and the rest of them followed hastily in pursuit. We just saved about a minute of standing there, waiting for the balrog to get us, which got the Fellowship (me in particular) a better chance of not being destroyed or injured in some way. We sprinted through the door, I was first in line, and in my haste I forgot that there weren't any stairs at the end of the hall. For one sickening, heart lurching second I was weightless and almost off the ground, staring at the bottom of the chasm twenty stories below my feet. Then an arm pulled me back. I fell on top of said person who had just saved my life. It was Boromir.

"Thanks," I said, rolling off of him hastily and helping pull him to his feet.

"Any time," he said back, as I tried to catch my breath.

"Lead them on, Aragorn," he said, breathing hard from running. "The bridge is near."Aragorn hesitated. "Do as I say! Swords are of no more use here!"

We continued running down the stairs as fast as we could, and soon we came upon the chunk of missing stone in the stairs. I knew that if I didn't cross now, I was most likely going to die, so gritting my teeth, I took a running jump and flew over to the other side. I cried out in pain, for I had landed on my ankle wrong, and it was now twisted. I grimaced, motioning for the others to jump across. Legolas came first, landing more gracefully than I had. I scowled at him, stupid elves. (Btw, I really do actually like Elves. I just get frustrated that their so much more coordinated then I am!)

"Gandalf!" said Legolas, motioning for him to jump. Without any hesitation, he leaped across, and Legolas swiftly caught him. Then several things happened simultaneously. A few dozen arrows flew toward us. One of them grazed my shoulder, and I cried out again in pain. Great, my list of injuries was just growing and growing. In the blink of an eye, Legolas whipped out his bow and arrows and shot those nasty suckers through the brain. Then at the same time, the stone wall at the top of the staircase began to crack and crumble as the balrog came nearer and nearer.

"Merry, Pippin!" Boromir yelled. He grabbed to two little hobbits under his arms and then took a terrifying leap of faith as the stone stairs crumbled beneath his feet. He stumbled onto the edge of the stairs, and just about slipped, but I reached out and grasped the front of his cloak, dragging him forward along with Merry and Pippin. They all staggered on the edge, and for one terrifying moment I thought they would fall, but Boromir managed to right the hobbits and himself. Aragorn then picked up Sam by the collar and threw him across the gaping chasm. He went to then pick up Gimli, but the dwarf held up a stubborn hand.

"Nobody tosses a dwarf," he growled and then took a flying leap. I grinned. He stumbled on the edge, falling back just as Legolas caught him by the beard. "Not the beard!" he cried.

Then, suddenly the stairs Aragorn and Frodo were on began to collapse. The leapt backward quickly, crawling onto sturdier stone. Then a large chunk of stone smashed the stairs that the man and hobbit were on, making it impossible to go back. The stairs wobbled and creaked precariously, as Frodo and Aragorn tried to right the blasted hunk of stone.

"Lean forward!" I heard Aragorn yell to the terrified hobbit. They did and slowly but surely the steps creaked forward, before landing on our set of stairs with an almighty crack. Aragorn and Frodo leapt quickly from the stone deathtrap as it fell what had to be tens of stories height, and were caught by the Fellowship. Without a moment to lose, we started running down the dangerously steep stairs, which was much more tiring then it would seem, until we reached the bottom.

I followed the Fellowship down the last towering set of stairs, to where the orcs had made a wall of fire, but fortunately for us, we were on the other side of the wall, and could make it to Khazad-dum.

Suddenly, it was very hot. And I mean sweltering hot. I felt like I was being barbequed alive, and suddenly three pairs of coats seemed five pairs too many. I turned my head, dreading what I would see.

It was the balrog.

That thing is friggen scary. In the movie, it's all like 'Ladeeda deeda, pretty fire on screen.' But now it was real. And now I was terrified. First off, it was huge. Bigger than any skyscraper I have ever seen. The movie and the books just can't do the beast justice. Second off, it was terrifyingly hot and covered and scorching flames. It hurt my eyes just to look at it. It had huge horns on its head, wreathed in flames that just couldn't be made by boy scouts. And its wings were so large and wiry that I was scared that one flap would be like getting hit with a gamma ray. Plus it had a huge, muscular body. I mean like 10 times more buff than Arnold Schwarzenegger ever was in all his years as Mr. Universe. Did I mention that looking into its eyes was like looking into the devil's eyes and the sun at the same time? Oh yeah, plus it has razor sharp teeth that are like 10000 °F and the size of double-decker buses! Plus it breathes fire. So if you ask me if I'm scared of a balrog, the answer is yes. I turned on my heel as soon as I saw a glimpse of it, and started running with all my might after the Fellowship.

We got to the Bridge of Khazad-dum, and I skidded to a halt. I hate heights. I'm not scared when it comes to stuff like mountains and such because they aren't a narrow strip of stone over a gaping chasm of blackness that wants to swallow you whole. I always hated really high heights. I hated riding in airplanes (a/n fun fact: Sean Bean aka Boromir hated flying so much that when they had to film the pass of Caradhras he trekked all the way up there instead of flying with the rest of the cast). I don't know which one I was more terrified of, the balrog or the never ending darkness of Khazad-dum.

Merry and Pippin darted past me and started hurrying across the bridge without a second thought, where I just stood there, paralyzed in my boots. Aragorn and Frodo were already on the other side. Boromir skidded to a halt beside me.

"Come on, Artemis! We've got to move!" he said desperately, clutching my arm and trying to drag me across, but my feet wouldn't move. I was in a catatonic state. I couldn't think, I couldn't move. All I saw before me was death. I didn't even know what was happening. I couldn't hear Boromir yelling at me to move. I vaguely registered being lifted into someone's arms. They told me to shut my eyes, and though I scarcely heard them, I complied. There was darkness all around me; the person started to move. I couldn't stand it as we cautiously moved forward. I had to open my eyes. And so I did.

Bad choice.

I saw the endless darkness beneath me, a tragic pit of death and despair, and I gave a hysterical cry of terror, and clung to the person, burying my face in their neck, praying to God for it to be over. I waited and after a minute of moving, a voice whispered in my ear.

"Ar, let go. We're across the bridge now." I cautiously opened my eyes, to see startling grey ones staring into mine. I gasped for air and immediately released Boromir from my death grip on his neck. He set me down, and I was about to apologize for almost strangling him, but then I noticed he was staring shocked at something. Then it hit me.

I turned around, and saw Gandalf bravely battling the balrog on the terrifying Bridge of Khazad-dum.

"YOU CANNOT PASS!" he cried wielding his staff and sword. "I am the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The Dark Fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun!" The balrog, in all of its terrifying scorching rage, brought down its fiery sword upon Gandalf, who blocked it with his staff. We watched, transfixed and helpless to do anything. "Go back to the shadows," growled Gandalf. Then the balrog pulled out it whip twisted with tongues of fire, and I was literally trembling. I mean, it is one thing to watch the balrog on screen, but in real life, it is piss-your-pants terrifying.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" cried to wizard, once and for all. Chills went crawling down my spine as Gandalf brought down his staff upon the bridge, and a wispy blue light surrounded the point at which staff met stone following the deafening crack. The balrog took a step forward, brandishing its whip, but the stone crumbled away from under its feet, and it fell with an almighty roar seemingly defeated into the black hole. Gandalf turned around, very worn and weary. I wanted to yell for him to watch out, but I knew I couldn't. This must happen. I gritted my teeth as the fiery tongue of the balrog's whip wrapped around Gandalf's ankle, and pulled him off balance and he fell to the edge of the bridge. Frodo darted forward, terrified, but Boromir caught him and held him back, as we watched helplessly as Gandalf tried to climb back up. He slipped and with one fated look at the Fellowship he echoed the chilling last words,

"Fly you fools."

And then he fell into shadow.

Tears fell from my eyes, although I knew that this was not the end of the great wizard. He was not truly dead, and I was powerless to tell the others what was to really happen. Frodo let out a cry that could not be caused by flame nor sword, an agony that was caused by loss. I wiped my eyes, knowing that we must move, we must get going or else we would be killed.

"Aragorn!" cried Boromir, taking Frodo and running up the stairs, followed by the rest of the Fellowship. But Aragorn did not move. I ran forward and pulled on his arm, and he turned and looked at me with eyes that still did not believe what they had just seen.

"Aragorn," I said looking him in the eyes. "You must lead them now." He shook his head experimentally, clearing his head before nodding and running up the stairs as arrows flew around us; the orcs had finally caught up with us. I turned to follow Aragorn, but just as I went to, and arrow ripped through my sleeve, grazing my arm. I cried out in pain, and in my panic I leaned on my injured foot, which just increased the pain. I gritted my teeth and managed to wobble up the stairs, clutching my arm all the way. I hobbled as fast as I could up the stairs so I was out of the range of the arrows, and then followed the light and my nose, smelling for where the air was less dank. Up ahead I saw light and the swish of Aragorn's cloak, and I knew I was going in the right direction. I ignored the throbbing pain in my arm, for pain can be controlled. I couldn't let it affect my escape from Moria. Finally I reached the top of the stairs and burst out the door, blinking in the sudden sunlight and fresh air. The sight before me was awful to see.

Merry and Pippin were lying on the ground, Sam not far away and they were sobbing their hearts out. It's never more humbling than to see a man cry, to know that he has a heart. And before me there were men crying and it brought me to my knees. The pain they felt I felt, and it was like there was now a hole in my heart. I felt like I had had all the wind knocked out of me, and tears I didn't know I had were streaming down my face. Gimli was in shock, trembling in his boots, his eyes wide with disbelief. Legolas' eyes were sweeping the scene before him, trying to make sense of what had just happened. He was like me; he saw such horror and agony that it made him so very sad, just as I was. Boromir knelt beside me, and I looked up at him, my eyes brimming with tears. He reached forward and swept hair out of my eyes, tucking it behind my ear. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest, crying so hard that I was shuddering. It didn't make sense; Gandalf wasn't really dead, but I was so affected by their sorrow that it made me cry worse than if Gandalf was really dead. Boromir wrapped his arms around me in a hug, stroking my hair softly and resting his chin on my head. He didn't say anything, and neither did I. I couldn't even form a coherent sentence, nothing made sense to me. Why is it this painful if I knew it was going to happen!? Maybe it was because I knew it was going to happen that made it all the worse. Maybe knowing that I shouldn't and couldn't stop it, made it hurt even more; to watched all these people, my friends go through so much meaningless pain, made it hurt horribly.

"Legolas, get them up," said Aragorn. I pulled away from Boromir, knowing that now we needed to move on. I looked at Legolas. He did nothing; he was just staring into space, sadness seeping from eyes.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" said Boromir angrily, his voice wavering. His fingers weaved between my own and he held my hand in his own.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs!" said Aragorn. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien. Come, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up. Boromir stood up and helped me to my feet, never letting go of my hand. Legolas and Gimli were helping the hobbits up when I heard Aragorn call to Frodo. I saw Frodo turn around, and I very nearly cried again. His eyes were so full of sadness; the cheery hobbit that I once knew was gone. Frodo now knew heartbreak, and his sorrow was infectious. It made my heart heavy, staring at his face which was now so weary and worn. Without a word, he turned from Aragorn and started walking toward the woods of Lothlórien, leaving a trail of tears and grief behind.

We started off toward the woods, Aragorn bounding ahead in the lead. The rest of us traveled rather wearily, trudging on slowly and hopelessly. I was in the back of course, my limp making me slower than the rest. But Boromir stayed by my side, his hand was still in my hand.

There's a grief that can't be spoken

There's a pain goes on and on

Empty chairs at empty tables

Now my friends are dead and gone

Here they talked of revolution

Here it was they lit the flame

Here they sang about tomorrow

And tomorrow never came

From the table

In the corner

They could see a world reborn

And they rose with voices ringing

And I can hear them now

The very words that they had sung

Became their last communion

At the lonely barricade

At dawn

Oh my friends, my friends

Forgive me

That I should live

When you are gone

There's a grief that can't be spoken

There's a pain goes on and on

Phantom faces at the window

Phantom shadows on the floor

Empty chairs at empty tables

Where my friends will meet no more

Oh my friends, my friends!

Don't ask me

What you sacrifice was for!

Empty chairs at empty tables,

Where my friends will sing no more…


	5. Le Melin

Thanks so much for the reviews guys!!!

Thanks to: GoodMorningCamper, Song in the woods,

Chapter 5: Le Melin

The walking never seemed to cease, and we walked with a new burden. There was a heavy air about the Fellowship, Gandalf's "death" still very fresh in our hearts. After traveling over relatively smooth terrain, we finally made it to the edge of the forest. We all darted in, hastening our pace in fear of the orcs catching up to us. We were not a meter into the forest when an eerie feeling came over me, like I was being watched, which of course, we probably were, considering we were bound to be caught by Galadriel's elves any moment now. And of course, right one cue,

"Stay close young hobbits," said Gimli, as we wandered through the trees, all feeling the eeriness of this place. "They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods. And elf witch, of terrible power. All who look at her, fall under her spell, and are never seen again…" As Gimli said this, Boromir's grasp on my hand tightened, and I mentally smiled a little.

"Well," Gimli said. "Here's one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily." I quickly whipped my head around, scanning for any sign of the elves. Nothing. "I've the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!"

And then they were there suddenly. I didn't even see them appear. 'Damn!' I thought. 'They are good!' Elves are wicked when it comes to stealth. Boromir blinked in surprise as the rest of the Fellowship realized that we were surrounded by armed elves. He quickly pulled my behind him, putting his body in front of mine. I glanced nervously at their arrows… those sharp points were awfully close to mine and Boromir's necks. I saw Haldir glide out of thin air to confront Aragorn, and I was stunned by how graceful (yet masculine) he was.

"The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark," he said snidely. I mentally 'grrrrr-ed' at him. Stupid elves versus dwarves prejudice.

"_Haldir o Lórien_," said Aragorn speaking in the Elvish tongue. "_Henio, aníron, boe ammen i dulu lîn.__Boe ammen veriad lîn_." (Haldir of Lórien. We come here for help. We need your protection.)

"Aragorn!" interrupted Gimli. "These words are perilous! We should go back."

"You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood," he said smoothly, and rather nasally (is it just me or is that only how I think he sounds? P.S. I actually like Haldir (and Legolas) despite popular belief, so yeah…). "You cannot go back." His gaze shifted to Frodo. "Come. She is waiting."

And so we followed the elves through the woods to Lothlórien. I felt rather relieved not to have weapons pointed at me nonstop. Boromir stuck rather close to me, not that I'm complaining. I'm very fond of his company, considering that I had now admitted to myself that I was in love with him. Stupid Mary-sue me. GRRRR. Yes, I was in love with Boromir, Lord of Gondor, and supposed fictional character. Well, not anymore he wasn't, and my feelings for him had only increased by tenfold. I found that I loved all the little things he did that the book or movie never described. Like the way his hair fell in his eyes when he was concentrating hard on something, or how he would trace circles on my hand with his fingers, or how that out of everyone in the Fellowship, he chose to be beside me. I loved those hidden moments when I would see a genuine smile grace his lips, or how he had a soft spot in his heart for hobbits, like they were kids. I loved the way that he held on to me protectively, and whenever he hugged me, he held on a bit longer than normal. I loved the way he stroked my hair when I was frustrated or sad, and he would calm me down. In this mad world we were living in, he was my peace. He was my eye of the hurricane.

And yet I did not know if he felt the same way. I was always terrible at reading others and their interests. I knew in my heart that I loved him, but I could not bring myself to think that he would feel the same way. He's a lord of Gondor for crying out loud! And I? I'm just a random girl who fell out of the sky. It's so uncomfortable, being so sure of one's feelings, and not being sure at all of another's. How had it come to this…

I reveled in Boromir's company as we approached to Elven dwelling of Lothlórien. It was beautiful. There were huge trees, as thick as buildings and taller and more intricate than any skyscraper ever made by humans. Stair cases twisted around each tree, spiraling seemingly toward the heavens. It was like mansions and palaces had been placed gracefully in the trees, becoming even more beautiful with their altitude. Everything was surrounded in a pale, shimmering blue light. The place was haunting, but enchanting and mesmerizing. I quickly shut my mouth as soon as I realized it had fallen open in shock. I looked at the rest of the Fellowship, and they too were gazing at the amazing structures in awe. We followed Haldir to the base of one of the trees. Aragorn and Legolas followed Haldir up the winding stairs without any hesitation. Gimli followed, then Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin went next. I took a deep breath to calm myself. 'You can do it,' I told myself. 'It's only stairs. Very slim stairs. On a tree. Going up really high. Without a side rail.' Oh, who am I kidding? I was terrified to go up the stairs. I gritted my teeth, and then forced myself to put one foot on the first stair feeling like I was going to throw up as I did.

Without a word, Boromir took me so I was on the side farthest away from the edge, put and arm around my shoulder and took my face in his hand, making me look away from the ground and edge of the stairs. He guided me up the steps, telling me not to look down, and whispering words of comfort in my ear. Suddenly, it all seemed so easy. When I was with Boromir, I was safe. When he held me in his arms, I was not afraid.

Boromir's POV

She has no idea what she does to me. She's so beautiful, but she doesn't even know it. She's fierce and daring, with a wonderful heart. But when she looked at those stairs, I knew she couldn't do it. It was like at Khazad-dum. Suddenly, she had stopped. This was not something Artemis would do. And then I saw her face. The look on her face was pure terror. And then I saw that same expression when she saw the stairs on the tree. She was terrified. And my heart ached to see her that way. To see her scared when all she ever seemed was tough. It broke through the persona she had made, and showed that she was there underneath that armor. That Artemis, my Artemis was there. _My _Artemis? Since when had she been mine to claim? I could not deny my deep feelings for her. When I was with her, she seemed to make my mind clear. She was a breath of air to my suffocated brain. She made me laugh, something I had not done in a long time. I loved her. We were doomed to meet in a world where we could not be together. She was from one universe, and I from another. Maybe, I met her for a reason. Maybe it was fate. Maybe some greater force brought her to me, so that I might have a chance at happiness. So I took her under my cloak, and guided her up the stairs. I helped her when she was helpless, and when she was in my arms, I was whole again.

Artemis's POV

We reached the top of the stairs, arriving just behind the Fellowship. My terror vanished as soon as we were on the flat, broad plain in front of what seemed to be like an Elven palace. Boromir released me, somewhat reluctantly, and I instantly felt a rush of cold from the loss of his touch. But I did not have time to dwell in my loss, because a bright light was coming from the top of the stairs. Two elves descended, slowly and gracefully to our level, and I felt my mouth once again fall open in shock. Gil-Galad and Galadriel approached the Fellowship slowly as we ogled at their Elven perfection and beauty. (a/n does anybody else want to just steal Galadriel's dress! It's gorgeous! I want my wedding dress when I get married to look like it! It's so freakn pretty!)

"Nine there are here," said Gil-Galad. "And yet the Fellowship seems to be incomplete… " He eyed me suspiciously. "Tell me, where is Gandalf for I much desire to speak with him." Galadriel's eyes met Aragorn's.

"He has fallen into shadow," she said, a mournful note in her low, melodic voice. "The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife." Her eyes went to Boromir's and he flinched just a little. "Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all," she said, her voice as pleasant as ever. I looked to Boromir. His face was pale and wan, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. She was torturing him, with her soft words, but sharp and penetrating mind. It made me sick, I could not bear to see him in such pain.

"Leave him alone!" I cried, not able to take it anymore. She released him after a moment of thought, and I put my hand on Boromir's cheek, drawing his face to look me in the eyes.

"It's okay," I whispered, barely audible to anyone but him (and all the elves of course). He was so shaken, and it made my heart hurt. I glared back at Galadriel. Her eyes met mine.

Suddenly, I had no control over my mind. It was skimming through all the memories and images I had ever seen, prying into things I'd rather not recount. I saw my life literally flashing before my eyes: I was a toddler being scolded by my mother, I was a 10 year old with a broken arm, and I was a teenager watching more movies than I could ever count. Then Galadriel began picking out even more recent memories. Gandalf telling me of my true heritage, Khazad-dum, the balrog, Gandalf's death, Boromir's death…

Through the haze, I saw Galadriel's eyes widen when she saw the future in my mind. She saw my world, my universe so to speak. She now knew everything I had told Boromir and everything Gandalf had ever told me too. She knew who I was; I was the last of the Elithicon. She forced my mind to replay Boromir's death scene in my mind over and over again. My face screwed up in pain as I saw what I had been ignoring and trying to put off my mind the entire trip to Middle Earth. Boromir fighting, Boromir falling, arrows in his chest, gasping for air, begging forgiveness, breathing his last breath.

Suddenly, it stopped. I was shaking hard, my hands trembling as I tried to draw steady even breaths. I felt wetness on my cheeks. I raised a hand to my eyes and found that I was crying. There was cold sweat on my forehead and down my back. I blinked furiously, looking around, realizing that all I had just experienced had only taken a few moments. I dared not look at Galadriel again, fearing further reminders of the pain Boromir was to bear. I stared at the ground, to shaken to look up at all.

"She is trustworthy," Galadriel announced in her unwavering, beautiful low voice. 'Damn right, I am. You could've just asked me instead of mentally torturing me!' I internally cursed her. Stupid telepathy.

"Hope remains while the Company is true," she said, not bothering to explain why she just mentally interrogated me. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep in peace…" And then her eyes flared at Frodo and I knew she was greeting him telepathically about seeing Sauron aka THE EYE. I glared at her, but I knew that she was a good character, and I was happy that she trusted me. I didn't want to get on her bad side. No one wants an elf as a mortal enemy. She turned gracefully and left with Gil-Galad. Then again, I guess no one would really care if Legolas was their mortal enemy. I mean, who cares about Legolas? I shook my head, not able to get the image of Boromir's last breath out of my head. I jumped a little when I saw the eyes of the real live Boromir looking into mine.

"Come on," he whispered. "They're giving us all rooms. We have to follow the Fellowship." (a/n I know that they don't actually have rooms for the Fellowship in Lothlórien, but you know what, I felt like giving them all rooms and a bath and a bed to sleep in, so there!) I absentmindedly latched onto Boromir's arm, and only then did I realize how extremely hungry I was. As if he had read my mind, Boromir said, "I hope we can get a meal. I'm starved."

"Not to worry," said the elf leading us. "Galadriel has told us to give you whatever you may need. You will receive a bath, bed, food, and clothing if you need it." I smiled faintly, hugging onto Boromir's arm. The elf led us up even more stairs, which with Boromir's help I managed to get up without having a meltdown. We reached another flat level, and a female elf came and detached me from Boromir's arm. Her name was Gwendelín, and she was to show me to my bath and fetch me new clothes. I left the rest of the Fellowship rather reluctantly. This was uncharted territory; I had no idea what would happen next. She led me along down a very airy outdoor hallway.

"So," she said in a high-pitched graceful voice. "You are Artemis?"

"Yes," I said nervously. She smiled at me, showing all of her perfectly white teeth. I suddenly felt very dirty and ugly next to her. I hadn't showered in days, so I was covered in sweat and blood, some of which was my own. She was so beautiful, and I was so… plain. My self-esteem had just been taken down a notch.

"Who was that man you were attached to?" she asked curiously. "Is he your husband?"

"Boromir?" I asked. "No, we're just good friends," I said rather sadly.

"Really?" she asked surprised. "The way he looked at you, I would have guessed different."

"What?" I asked very confused.

"He was staring at you with stars in his eyes, didn't you see?" I shook my head no. I was exceptionally unobservant when it comes to deciphering men.

"Yeah," I said somewhat sarcastically. "I bet. More like looking at me with disgust; I must reek."

"You do indeed smell," Gwendelín said musically. "But from what you have been through, it is not surprising that you are in the state you're in." I smiled a little. I really liked Gwendelín. She was nice, and truthful. And if what she said about Boromir was true, well… let's just say I would be very, very happy.

"Here we are," she said as we approached a willowy door on the right. She opened it, and inside was a small room with a bed and bathtub in it. The bath was already filled with water, like it had been expecting me to come. It looked very inviting, and I was eying it greedily. There was soap on the table next to the tub.

"The men with bathe in a different part of the structure, but their rooms are all right next to yours down the hall. Will there be anything else you require?" asked Gwendelín. I didn't really know how to phrase it. I hadn't shaved my legs in days.

"Well, do you have, I don't know what you would call it… um… a razor? Y'know, to shave your legs and stuff?" I asked my cheeks reddening in my embarrassment. Gwendelín gave me an understanding smile and nodded.

"I'll bring that right away along with a change of clothes."

"Thanks very much, Gwen," I said. "Can I call you that for short?"

"Sure," she nodded, and smiled, then swept from the room, closing the door softly behind her. I had enjoyed Gwendelín's company; it was nice to talk to another girl after such a long time hanging out with only guys. I breathed out tiredly. I trudged over to the bed, pulling off my outer flannel shirt and Uggs. My gun, which was stored in my pocket, I took out gingerly and wrapped it up in my flannel shirt; I set it carefully on the bed. My muscles were so sore, and ached in protest as I stretched out on the bed, resting my head on the pillow. After a minute or so there was a gentle knock on the door. I pulled myself up off the bed, and trudged to the door. Gwen gave me a razor (whose design was strikingly similar to that of my universe's) and a dark maroon bundle of clothes with I would examine later. I thanked her with a huge smile and then shut the door. I flung the maroon bundle onto the bed, and began pulling off my clothes as quickly as I could, which proved to be a painful task. My injuries were a bit troublesome and painful when having to contort to try to get my shirt off. Finally I managed to wriggle out of all my clothes, and I wobbled to the tub. There was steam curling off the surface of the crystalline water. I stuck a finger in. Perfect temperature. I quickly slid in, hissing as the hot water made contact with open flesh. I soaked in the perfectness of it all before setting about to cleaning myself, knowing I probably wouldn't have another opportunity like this to get clean. I appreciated how hard it must have been to get a bath like this, steaming hot, when they didn't have any water heaters in Middle Earth. I was immediately grateful to the elves to no end.

I took the soap and washed my filthy hair as best I could, then rinsed it in the quickly darkening water. Next, I took the bar of soap and sponge, and set to work at cleaning every surface of my skin. Finally when I had finished shaving my legs, and scrubbing my skin and wounds clean, I rose from the bath and stepped out, water dripping on the floor. There was a fluffy white cloth nearby, and upon further investigation, I discovered it to be a towel. I dried myself off and then wandered over to the bed where the maroon bundle lay sprawled across the sheets. I prodded it open and discovered what was close to underwear and a bra/corset. I pulled them on, quickly covering my nakedness. Upon examination, the maroon mass turned out to be a very pretty Elven wove dress and an under dress. I slipped on the under dress, but not the real one. I needed to get bandages on my wounds first.

As if on cue there was a knock on my door. Wrapping the towel around my hair so I kind of looked like a turban, I went to answer the door. Gwen was there with bandages and cleaning alcohol. Wow, that was eerily creepy and yet convenient.

"Thanks," I said taking the gauze from her.

"Do you need assistance?" she asked. "I know a little healing magic; I might be able to help."

"That would be great," I said beckoning her in. Gwen help clean the hard to reach wounds, and she managed to make the cut on my head to stop bleeding completely. Between the two of us, we did a pretty bang up job bandaging me up. I smiled and thanked her for her help. She said that she would wait for me to get the dress on and then she would lead me to dinner. I pulled the thing on hastily, and paused for a second to admire it.

The dress was beautiful, made of a silken maroon colored fabric and embroidered with what looked like flames, instead of flowers. I hate dresses, but I really liked this one. It was floor length with a medieval neckline, y'know, the kind that drops from your shoulders and makes a low boxlike shape along your bust line. It was very beautiful; I liked the sleeves. They stopped at the elbow and trailed down to my hips. The dress fit my body perfectly, and in my opinion, made it look better than it really was underneath. The bra/corset thing they gave me was like a comfortable push-up bra, but it actually keeps your boobs in place, which made me happy. The neckline was a bit low for my liking, but it fit me great. The fabric hugged my hips snugly and a belt draped over my pelvis in a V-shape. I yanked out some knots in my hair with my fingers and then followed Gwen out the door in search of food. Man was I hungry!

Boromir's POV

We had all just bathed and cleaned up, and the Fellowship and I were eating dinner ravenously. Sam was happy; he got to eat all of his favorite forms of potatoes: mashed, boiled, and in a stew. I was eating, but nervously. I was anxious for Ar to be back. I didn't like having her out of my sight for so long. I had just finished eating a piece of bread when a pretty elf and woman walked into the room. I turned to see who it was, and my jaw literally dropped.

It was Artemis. I could barely recognize her. It wasn't that her face had changed, although she was now clean so it was more visible, it was her posture and her demeanor. They had changed completely. She was standing tall and beautiful like she had had a huge weight taken off her shoulders, and she was smiling serenely. She was so peaceful, completely different from the Ar I had seen decapitate many orcs in battle. And her clothes, well there was definitely a change in clothes. Her dress was much more… revealing than her usual trekking outfit. The dress fit her perfectly, emphasizing her soft curves and exposing what perfect breasts she had.

The fabric highlighted her personality perfectly. She was like fire, which is what was embroidered into her dress. The dress itself wasn't something worth a double take, but Ar made it the second most beautiful thing in the room, only second to her breathtaking face. Her brown hair fell in slight ringlets around her face and down her back, shining like strands of gold in the light. I was at a loss for words; she was so perfect.

Artemis's POV

Gwen led me to where the Fellowship was eating and I smiled, smelling potatoes in the air. Forgetting that I must look completely different from what any of them had seen me like before, I strode into the room, following my stomach toward the food. I paused when I noticed everyone's eyes were on me. I glanced at my dress nervously, afraid I might have a piece of lint or something stuck to an awkward place on my dress. Legolas and Aragorn were the first to notice me, then Gimli, then the hobbits, and lastly Boromir. I wanted to laugh a little at Boromir's reaction to what I realized was how I looked. He looked like a fish out of water, mouth gaping open at me. His eyes were wide, and they flitted from my face to my feet, then back to my face. Oh my God. Boromir just checked me out!!! Nervous butterflies exploded in my stomach and I made my way to the table, taking a seat between Merry and Sam.

"Artemis?" asked Pippin wide-eyed.

"Yeah?" I said, pretending I didn't notice them staring. I reached across the table and took a bread roll and a sausage from the platters. Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli caught on first and stopped staring. They went back to eating and Gimli nudged the hobbits to get them to quit ogling. Boromir's gaze never left me, and that didn't bother me the slightest. I started eating and so did everyone else. They had so much food, but I was so hungry that I didn't even notice or care what I was eating. I just knew I had to fill my stomach or else I might die of starvation. Despite having come in late to dinner, I finished before the rest of the Fellowship. Then again they all ate more than I did, considering they were hobbits and fully grown men. Legolas finished shortly after me. The hobbits finished next, Sam cramming the last of the potatoes into his mouth. Aragorn and Boromir were done next, and Gimli finally finished last. Gwen came back to lead us to our rooms which were all side by side in the hallway. She pulled me aside though before we started off.

"I switched that man, Boromir's room so he's next to yours now," she whispered grinning. My heart fluttered excitedly. "I thought that because you guys are so close that it would be comforting to know that your friend is in the room right next to yours. Also if you have a nightmare or something happens, you can go talk to him."

"Gwen!" I whispered happily, smiling from ear to ear. "Thank you!" I pulled her into a hug, and then she and I linked arms and lead the rest of the Fellowship down the hall. I was earning weird looks from all of them; they had never seen me so girly or giddy. And that thought just made me giggle, which is even more girly. Gwen and I skipped down the hall; I was going to miss her when we started out again. I barely knew her, but she was so kind and was a great friend. We finally reached where the bedrooms started. Gwen opened each room and directed who was supposed to be in it into the rooms. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and then the hobbits all shared a room because they were so small that they all fit. I gave Gwen a final good night hug, and then opened up my door. Boromir opened his door too. Then on impulse, I ran over to him and gave him a big hug. I pulled away before he had time to react to what I had just did, and then I smiled and waved goodnight to him. I skipped in and shut the door behind me, content with the night's events.

I pulled off the dress, laying it delicately on the bed. There was a white lacy, low cut nightgown on the bed, and I pulled it on, seeing how if fit before deciding whether to take my bra off. It fit snugly, and again made my body look more than it was worth, which was just fine with me. It had a plunging V-neck and cut off at about mid thigh. I glanced at the bandage on my arms. Damn it. There was blood seeping through. I would need to change the dressing. Unfortunately, I didn't have any left. And Gwen had already gone for the night. I wonder if Boromir had any extra gauze… hm, might as well check, or else I would wake up with a bed with a bloodstain on it. I shrugged then walked to my door, opened it, and walked into the hall, closing my door behind me softly.

Boromir POV (sorry that I keep switching it up on you guys!)

I heard a knock on my door just as I was pulling off my shirt, and tugging on new breeches. I ran my fingers through my hair, wondering if Aragorn or Legolas were coming to scold me for something.

What I did not expect was a scantily clad Artemis to be standing in my doorway, emitting waves of beauty. My eyes widened and I swallowed hard. She was wearing a lacy nightgown that hugged her curves in all the right places. The neckline showed more than enough of her perfect breasts, soft and milky pale in the moonlight. The nightgown was short and stopped at about mid thigh. I mentally slapped myself, keeping my mind out of places it should not wander. But here she was, the woman of my dreams standing half dressed in front of me. I felt butterflies in my stomach. What kind of man was I? Butterflies in my stomach! She has no idea what she does to me. Luckily, she was looking at the ground and I managed to compose myself before she looked up. That's when I noticed that the bandage on her arm was bleeding through.

Artemis's POV (last time I switch it this chapter! I promise!)

I stood outside Boromir's door, staring at the floor, drawing imaginary doodles in the stone with my mind. The door opened, and I expected him to be in his usual garb. What I did not expect was a half naked Boromir with a six-pack abs to be standing in front of me, sandy hair hanging in his face. Oh my gawd, sexy. My eyes widened when I saw him, and I quickly composed myself, reminding myself of why I was here at his door… why was I here? I glanced around. Oh right, bloody arm.

"Hey," I said trying to control my voice and not stare as his sexy chest, which by the way had light blonde hairs sprinkling it. "Um, do you have some bandages? I need some new ones."

"Uh…" he stuttered. "Um, yeah. Somewhere in here, probably. I had to dress my own wounds so, yeah…" He just kind of stood there in the doorway, so without an invitation, I walked past him and into his room, setting about searching for dressing. He just stood there (a/n just to let you know, he was staring at her butt, cuz he's a guy, and even guys in Middle Earth do that).

"C'mon!" I said, pretending to be irritated while in reality my stomach was doing nervous flip flops. "Help me look." That seemed to snap him out of it, and he started looking. After about a minute or so Boromir's voice said,

"I found some." I turned around, and he held out the gauze to me. I slowly reached out and took it, our fingers brushing ever so slightly.

"Would you, uh, like help, dressing the wound?" he asked hesitantly. My mind screamed, 'NO BAD IDEA!' but I didn't listen.

"Sure," I said smiling. We both went and sat on the bed side by side. Boromir reached over and began slowly undoing the bandages I had sloppily put on. His fingers were skillful, untangling the bloody dressing expertly. Every time his fingers brushed my skin, it felt like an electric bolt had been sent through my body and my stomach decided to do friggen gymnastics. Finally he had unwound the entire red soaked thing, and he deftly wiped up the blood and set it carefully on the table by the bed. He ran his finger along the wound very gently, and I reveled in how warm and calloused his hands were, and how perfect they were running over my bare skin. A sharp short pain made me flinch.

"Sorry," Boromir whispered softly and I swallowed hard. His voice was so low and…well… sexy. "Swordsman's hands. Rough, I know."

"Yes," I said softly watching his hands examine my skin, handling it like it would break at the slightest touch. He swiftly picked up the fresh bandages and worked in silence, taking as much care as he could not to cause me any pain. I watched his face mesmerized at the concentration I saw. He wound if up deftly, finally tying the knot to keep it all together. I realized that my breathing was extremely heavy and uneven, and I blushed, trying to clear my head.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"You should go get some sleep," he said standing up abruptly. I stood up less hastily then he had.

"You should rest too," I told him quietly. He scoffed sadly.

"I will find no rest here," he said. I laid my hand on his arm.

"What did Galadriel make you see?" I asked softly.

"I could ask you the same question," he smiled sadly at me.

"You tell me, I'll tell you," I said, having absolutely no intention of telling Boromir of what I saw.

"Agreed, you go first," he said and we sat back down on the bed. I crawled across, grabbing a pillow and sitting crisscross applesauce, placing the pillow over my nether regions and laying my head on the pillow.

"No," I said. "She tortured you first, you talk first."

"Fair enough," he said laying back on the pillows and staring off into the distance.

"I heard her voice inside my head. She spoke of my father and the fall of Gondor." He hesitated. "She said to me, even now, there is hope left, but I cannot see it. It is long since we had any hope. My father is a noble man, but his rule is failing, and our people lose faith. He looks to me to make things right and I would do it. I would see the glory of Gondor restored. Have you ever seen it, Artemis? The White Tower of Ecthelion, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?"

"Never in real life," I said sadly. "Only in movies, or in my imagination."

"It's beautiful," he said, for a moment it seemed as though he wanted to say something more, but he didn't. _Almost as beautiful as you._

"I wish I could see if for real," I said playing with my hair.

"One day, Artemis, I'll take you there," he said smiling excitedly. "I'll give you the grand tour. We'll see everything there is to see." I was at the point of tears. He was making promises to me that I knew he wouldn't be able to keep. In the next few days, he might be dead. I had to stop it.

"Yeah…" I trailed off, trying to keep tears from my eyes.

"Artemis, what did she make you see? What made you so shaken?" he asked lifting my head to look him in the eyes. And I couldn't take it anymore; I couldn't keep hiding this from him. Tears leaked onto my cheeks and I turned away, ashamed of crying in front of him yet again. I didn't want him to see me like this. I felt two hands place themselves on either side of my face, and force my head up. I blinked the tears out of my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Boromir asked softly, brushing tears from my face and tucking stray strands of hair behind my ear. He was kneeling in front of me, looking into my eyes with such concern that it made my heart feel like it was going to burst.

"I- I can't," I stuttered. "I can't do this anymore…" I tore my face out of his embrace, sniffling myself to silence. "Boromir?" I asked, his name rolling off my tongue like it was the only word I would say. "What if you knew something bad was going to happen, to someone you loved and cared about?"

"What's this about?" he asked. I looked up at him and suddenly had a horrifying image of three arrows sticking out of his bare chest. I gasped, and was reduced to tears even worse.

"Boromir, y-you… you're going to die."Boromir looked at me blankly. He sat back, leaning away from me.

"When?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. I didn't know how many days it took to get from Lothlórien to Amon Hen. "I'm so sorry, I didn't want to tell you. I couldn't let you go through that pain or confusion."

"So you bore this burden yourself?" he asked quietly. "Why did you suffer silently?"

"Because…" I mumbled.

"Why?" he asked again, more forcefully.

"Because I'm in love with you! I didn't want you to have to worry!" I cried burying my face in the pillow. There was silence. I knew it. I knew I would just ruin it. I am such a fucking Mary-sue! I should have just let my arm bleed me to death. Two calloused hands wrapped around my wrists, forcing me up to look at the condemned man.

"Artemis," he breathed. And then he pulled me into a desperate hug. I sobbed into his chest, wanting to make this right. He accepted me after what I just told him. I just told him one of the most dangerous things you could ever say to a person, and he didn't leave me to sit there and never see him again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself to him as close as I could, burying my hands his hair. His arms wrapped around my abdomen, his hands running up and down my back, and we just were there like that for what could've been seconds, minutes, hours. All too soon, Boromir pulled back, my arms still wrapped around his neck. His face was barely an inch from mine.

"Artemis," he breathed. "I'm in love with you." And then he closed the gap between our lips. It was desperate, it was passionate, it was perfect.

Oh, I am awful aren't I? Don't worry, I'll continue next chapter right from where I left off here. Although next chapter may change the rating to M (though I doubt it, I wouldn't want to go _that _into detail, I'm only fourteen, I only know what I watch from movies and read from Fanfictions) but there will be more Boromir Artemis Luvin! 3

I know that because Artemis's afraid of heights that technically mean she should have been freaking out on the stair jump down to the Bridge of Khazad-dum. But I figured that she only managed to get down those because they were going _down_ the stairs plus adrenaline rush. It was just an idea that popped into my head, so sorry if it was kind of confusing. I wanted to something to bond Ar and Boromir together a little more.

Boromir-sexy points for anyone who knows which movies I kinda, just a little bit used a takeoff of their lines for my story? If you find them, I will love you even more than I do for you reading my story in the first place!!!


	6. Stuff Goes Down

They have sex. Necessary to the plot. Let's move on the next chapter. Oh- and Boromir asked Artemis to marry him. K. Read on mah children! :D


	7. Announcement

Hey, all you readers out there that I love so much! I have an announcement to make. I have reread my story, and decided that Artemis is a Mary-sue. I really don't like that fact, so yeah. I have, with some deep thinking, decided to rewrite some of the chapters of my story. I promise to make it better, readers! I really do! I actually have all of the chapters up to 7 rewritten, so I'll be posting them sometime soon. I highly recommend for you all to read the rewritten chapters, cuz I had a brain blast at like 3 in the morning while drinking cherry coke zero, and added some key things into the plot. I'm afraid that if you don't read the edited chapters, you will be utterly lost as I continue the story. But don't be sad that I'm changing some things! I tried to add some things that I found funny in, and some stuff that will thicken the plot and make it more interesting. Don't worry, when I rewrote it, I kept in almost 98% of the original chapter, I just added stuff, and changed a few little things around. So anyways, this announcement is to tell you that I hope that you will all go back and read the new and improved chapters! Pretty, pretty please! I'll give you all muffins if you do!

Plus you guys, I'm changing her name back to Artemis. If you don't like her name, you anonymous readers, then don't read it. I'm really sorry for switching her name up on you guys like this, but I really feel that Artemis' name shouldn't be Elizabeth. Whenever I'm plotting in my head what to do next in the story, I always find myself calling her Artemis, not Elizabeth. I just feel it fits her better.

Plus there might be a little more swearing, but hey! That's why its rated T, not K+.

So yeah, that's the purpose of this announcement. Please reread at least the first chapter and the third chapter. I added a lot of stuff to those, so pretty, pretty please read them! I love you guys! TTFN! TA TA For Now!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! WOOHOO! 2010 GUYS! EVERYBODY DANCE NOW! *techno music plays*


	8. A Day in Lórien

Chapter 7: A Day in Lórien

I woke in a daze and snuggled into what I thought was a pillow, then I realized the pillow was naked and breathing. My eyes fluttered open and last night's events came rushing back to me. I was now an official Mary-sue.

"Good morning," he whispered. "Mrs. Artemis Boromir of Gondor…" I smiled widely.

"Hello, my charmingly sexy fiancé, Boromir of Gondor," I whispered in his ear. He smiled and stared at me intently.

"You're so beautiful," he said. "It's fate that you fell into my universe, and decided to love me."

"Ah, but I never told you, did I?" I asked. "I loved you even before I met you. I loved you the moment you came on screen, the moment I turned the page of the book and your character graced the pages. But you're no character…" I said kissing him again. "You're mine, Boromir."

"And I'm only yours, forever," he said, kissing me back.

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK._

I shot up out of bed. Boromir mouthed furiously for me to get under the bed, and I quickly complied, grabbing my clothes along the way. Boromir leapt out of bed, pulling on his pants as he stumbled toward the door. I darted out of view from the door just as Boromir opened it.

"Boromir?" came the voice of Legolas. Shit. Sometimes I hate elves. You know how elves have super awesome senses, well knowing Legolas he was probably going to pick up some very unusual and specific smells one only smells when someone's spent the night doing naughty activities. Also, each person has their own scent, and I bet Legolas was curious as to why Boromir's room smelled so much like me. So there's the explanation for why Legolas was the worst person to be at the door when I was in Boromir's room. Plus if I even moved a muscle he would probably hear me with his extra sensitive hearing. Stupid elves. And as if on cue, I heard Legolas give a sniff.

"Boromir, why does your room smell like testosterone?" he asked. He sniffed again. "Does my nose deceive me, or does your room also smell a lot like Elizabeth?"

"Oh, well she came last night to get some bandages for her arm, and I helped her dress her arm, so yeah… Why are you here?" Boromir asked quickly.

"I was getting everyone up for the day; we're to stay in Lórien for a while though, enough time to heal our wounds. By the way, I knocked on Elizabeth's door, but she didn't answer. I couldn't sense that anyone was in there at all. Do you know where she is?" asked Legolas, suspicion was dripping in his voice.

"I think she went to go get more dressing for her arm. I'm out, and I heard someone pass my door as I got up this morning," he lied. 'Yay! Boromir and his awesome lying skills!' I cheered in my head. Legolas seemed to accept Boromir's answer, and bade him goodbye continuing on to wake up the other members of the Fellowship.

Boromir shut the door and walked over to where I was crouching naked behind his bed. I smiled meekly up at him and he helped me to my feet.

"Thank you," I said smiling. Before I could say another word, Boromir pulled me to him, our bare chests pressed together, running a hand through my tangled hair. He smiled a little bit when he pulled back.

"Um, I don't think you'll be able to wear that dress for a couple days," he said chuckling. His fingers brushed over a love bite he had left on my exposed chest.

"Shame," I said pressing myself to him and breathing in his scent. "I guess I'll only wear if for your eyes only then." A deep rumbling chuckle emitted from his chest, and he pulled away, helping me pull on what was left of my clothes.

"I have to get back to my room before the hobbits get curious and storm in," I sighed sauntering toward the door.

"Fine," he said grinning. "I'll see you at breakfast, then." He kissed me one last time, and I opened the door, making sure the coast was clear before scurrying back to my room, closing the door swiftly behind me. I leaned against my door breathing a sigh of relief. I can't believe that I just spent the night with Boromir. It was so unreal, and awesome. I smiled to myself again.

Suddenly, I felt sick. Like totally nauseous sick. I sprinted to the pail that was to be used as a trash bin, and emptied the contents of my stomach into it. I wiped my mouth, groaning in disgust. I hate throwing up. It's like top thing on my list of what not to do. I spat into the bin, trying to rid the taste in my mouth. Icky, icky, ick! There was a knock on my door, and I straightened up at once. I sprinted to my bed, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around me so anything Boromir had done to mark me could not be seen. I opened the door.

There stood Gwen with a smirk on her face.

"Have a nice sleep?" she asked with fake innocence. I rolled my eyes at her.

"How did you know?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, we elves do have heightened senses, y'know," she said handing me a bundle of cloth that was in her hands. I took it as she walked into my room. We both sat down on the bed.

"So," I said unraveling the bundle. "What's this?"

"Clothes for your journey," she said. "I got you some trousers, because the terrain you'll be going over won't be easy to cross in a dress."

"Thanks Gwen!" I said grinning. "I really don't like dresses all that much, except that brilliant one I had on yesterday."

"That one was really pretty," she said.

"So…" I said. "Guess what?" She tilted her head questioningly.

"What?"

"Boromir asked me to marry him!" I whispered excitedly.

"Awww!" Gwen said. "That's so romantic! I'm so happy for you!" We both erupted into a fit of girly giggles. We started discussing girly topics, like what my wedding dress was going to be like, was Boromir a good kisser, what color clothes we liked, how much I hated Legolas, etc.

"Why do you hate Legolas so much?"

"I don't know," I said. "I guess I don't really. Actually, he's pretty cool. It's just; it's really fun to hate him!"

"How can you hate him?" Gwen exclaimed. "He's so handsome! And brave…"

"Why Gwen?" I said in mock shock. "I do believe that you have a crush on a certain elven prince of Mirkwood!"

"Well," she stammered. "I don't know, maybe…"

"You do know he's single, right?" I said. Her face lit up.

"Really?"

"As far as I know, yep. I mean, who would want to court Leggy?" I said. Gwen frowned at me. "I'm just kidding! Jeez, it's just a joke girl!"

"Hahaha," she said lamely. "He's really nice too. And he's a good warrior…"

"You should flirt with him, girl!" I said excitedly.

"Flirt?" she asked. "What is flirting?"I just stared at her.

"Are you sirius?" I asked. "Elves don't flirt?" She just stared at me blankly.

"Well, what is it?"

"Okay, let's see. How do I explain this," I said. "Um, well, it's when you try to get a guy to like you. You dress up when you're around him, and express that you're interested in him. And if he likes you, he'll ask you out- er, ask to court you," I corrected myself.

"Oh! That sounds like fun!" she said excitedly. "But why would Legolas like me, he doesn't even know me."

"Then make him get to know you!" I said leaping off the bed. "You have to make him feel like when you're not near, there's something wrong; something's missing. You have to make him not be able to get you off his mind!" I grinned, pulling Gwen to her feet. "I'm gonna dress you up, so when Leggy sees you, he won't be able to take his eyes off you!"

Later that day…

I had worked on Gwen for at least two hours, teaching her the best I could how to flirt. I don't think I did a very good job, because I don't really know how to flirt. I just watch people flirt; I don't actually do the flirting. I did Gwen's makeup for her, making it a little heavier than usual, but not too bad. We had done her hair together, making shining ringlets of gold with her hair that fell down her back. She had on a simple necklace, but it fit her perfectly. It was a clear-cut gem that hung on a golden chain, but as simple as it was, it was beautiful.

"You look gorgeous, darling!" I said happily putting the finishing touches on her hair. It was nighttime, and all of Lórien was enveloped in a pale blue light shimmering from the trees. I had threatened Legolas at breakfast to be on a certain deck of the tree structure the Fellowship inhabited later than day. Later was now in three minutes.

"Now," I said turned to Gwen. "Remember, I threatened you to be at the deck also at the same time, and you're completely clueless as to what is going on. If you need to insult me to find a common ground with Leggy, then so be it. Remember," I said smiling at her, "just be yourself, and there's no way that he won't like you." She smiled nervously and I shooed her out the door.

"Bye!" she squeaked excitedly.

"I'll be watching just in case you need to be rescued cuz Legolas goes crazy or something, k?" I said.

"K!"

"Good luck!" I said. She nodded and hurried down the stairs. I lay on the ground on my belly, sticking my head over the edge so I could see the two elves on the deck below me. This wasn't so bad, I mean the height of this tree was terrifying, but I was on my stomach so there was like no way I could fall off. Or at least, a very little chance I could fall. I smirked and looked down.

There Leggy was standing on the edge of the deck, leaning against the handrails and looking off into the distance. I saw Gwen walk onto the deck slowly.

"Hello?" she asked. Legolas turned. The look on his face was priceless. He looked like he was about to start drooling at Gwen, and she noticed this. Her face lit up and I smiled at my handiwork. Legolas composed himself and cleared his throat.

"Hello," he said.

"Did Artemis threaten you too?" she asked tilting her head at him.

"Uhhh…" he said kind of stupidly. "Um, yes. She did."

"Same here," said Gwen coming to stand beside him and putting her hand on the rails. "What did she threaten you with?"

"Well, I believe she said she would start singing at me, and/or rip off my head and stick it on a pike."

"That's lovely," said Gwen, giggling a little bit. "She said that she would steal all my clothes and burn them in the dead of night. I'm rather fond of the dress I'm wearing right now, so I wore it just in case Ar decided to burn my clothes anyways."

"It would be a shame," said Legolas. "It's a very beautiful dress."I smirked as Gwen blushed and murmured thanks at him.

My eavesdropping was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. I jumped about a mile in the air and was about to scream when I saw that the intruder was Boromir.

"That was a lovely hello," he said smirking.

"Well, you know me and my greetings," I shrugged at him.

"Why are you lying on the ground with your head over the edge of the platform?" he asked.

"Shhhhh!" I scolded. "I'm watching Gwen and Legolas!"Boromir knelt beside me, looking over the edge as well.

"Well, Gwen certainly looks dressed up, doesn't she," he said. "Your doing I suppose?"

"Maybe," I said. "I'm a matchmaker at heart, what can I say?" Boromir rolled his eyes.

"So you're trying to set up two blonde elves with each other?" he asked.

"Yup."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Nope."

"Artemis," Boromir scolded.

"SHHHHHHH!" I shushed him. "I'm trying to listen."

"It was nice to meet you, Legolas," smiled Gwen.

"It was even better to meet you, Gwendelín," Legolas said. Gwen turned around to leave but Legolas caught her arm. I raised my eyebrows at them.

"Wait, Gwen," said Legolas. "Is it possible that I might see you tomorrow?"

"Yes," Gwen smiled brightly. "That would be very possible. Tomorrow night, on this same deck again?"

"Until then," Legolas smiled and then he kissed her hand. "Goodbye, fair Gwendelín."

"Goodbye, Legolas," she whispered blushing again. And then she turned and walked back up the stairs while Legolas stared at her retreating back. I smirked, man I was good! I got back up to my feet, pulling Boromir with me.

"I can't believe that worked," he said.

"Yeah, well I'm brilliant like that," I smirked. Boromir grinned and then kissed me softly on the lips.

"Yes," he murmured. "Yes you are." I smiled.

"Now shoo," I said swatting him. "Gwen will be up here any minute and we have some girl talk to attend to, so go away!"

"Fine, fine," he said waving his hands at me. "Quit your harping! I'm going!" He turned his back on me, and I was about to turn around when he grabbed me and placed another kiss on my lips. He grinned at me then ran down the stairs as I waved my fist at him mockingly.

"Ar! Artemis!" Gwen's voice came from behind me. She was running toward me with an extremely wide grin on her face. "It worked! Did you see it! He kissed my hand! He likes me!" And then she erupted into a fit of girly giggles. I just laughed and we began chatting about all the lovely details as we made our way to dinner.

The smell of food hit my nostrils and my stomach started jumping for joy at the smell. But then my stomach started doing gymnastics, and then it started spasming, and then I felt like I was going to throw up again. I ran to the nearest wastebasket, and that's exactly what I did. My gawd, my stomach hurt like hell. Well, it didn't actually hurt, it just felt like it was going to make me throw up. I felt so nauseous.

"Ar?" asked Gwen worriedly rushing me back to my room and sitting me down on my bed. "Ar, what have you eaten today?"

"I had some lembas bread, and that's about it besides some water," I groaned, sick of the taste of vomit in my mouth. This was the second time today! "C'mon, Gwen. You're an elf, you said you were studying medicine yourself!"

"Okay, have you done anything unusual in the past 24 hours?" she asked.

"Um, I threw up this morning. And then I had breakfast. Then you were with me after that for the rest of the day," I said.

"Artemis," she said siriusly. "What exactly did you and Boromir do last night?" I stared at her wide-eyed. I gulped and blinked several times.

"You- you don't think-" I stammered. "I mean- I can't be! Can I?"

"Artemis, I think you're pregnant."

"…"

"Artemis?"

"You have _got_ to be shitting me."

Thanks for reviewing guys! I love all of you! It really does mean a lot to me, and it really makes me want to write more when you guys review

Thanks to: Song in the woods, amberhathaway, Isahunderhill, MessyxxxJessy, rikoxriko, dappleddakota, Kitty243, amberxriko, SongsOfSpring


	9. Scary Elf Lady

hey guys!!! im so sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter! i hit like a writers block, but now its all good. beware, it will be a while until my next update, cuz i'm moving tomorrow and it will be a while until my computer is set up in the new place :( sads, but i will update as soon as possible!!! again, thank you all who reviewed!!! i love you guys so much, reviews just make my day!!! :D

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Chapter 8: Scary Elf Lady

"No."

"Artemis, it's your own damn fault."

"I didn't know elves swore."

"Yes, an unpleasant habit I picked up from you." I glared at Gwen. (Hahaha, Taylor and Skylar if you guys are reading this.)

"It doesn't make sense!" I ranted throwing my hands up. "It's been one day! I shouldn't be showing signs already! I just threw up, maybe it's food poisoning!"

"Don't start that theory again, Ar," gesturing to the ten or some used Middle Earth/Elvish version of pregnancy tests lying on my bed. "Every single one said you were with child."

"They could all be wrong!" I huffed.

"Ar," Gwen warned.

"Fine," I said. "But I still don't understand. It's been one day! One day!!!"

"I don't know, Ar, I just don't know," she sighed sitting beside me. I looked at her gloomily. For a moment she mirrored my expression, but then her face changed from thinking to excited to wary in all about two seconds.

"What? What is it?" I asked. She looked at me.

"Well…" she hesitated. "If you really want to find out, you could ask _her_…"

"Who _her_?"

"Galadriel." I frowned.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but Galadriel is all elfish royalty and all. I doubt she would care that much about an unplanned pregnancy, when she's got all her important elvy stuff to do. Plus… well, she scares me."

"I know, I know, Ar," Gwen chided. "But maybe cuz you're part of the Fellowship, she might take more interest. She can read your mind, find out if there's something you did that caused this."

"I know what caused this," I grumbled. "Getting it on with Boromir. Stupid men… And I'm not really that keen on her browsing through my mind, picking out certain memories she might like to replay to enjoy torturing me." I glared at the ground, still pissed at Galadriel.

"If you don't want to ask, I'll ask," she offered.

"But she's so scary!!!" I whined.

"So?" she said. "I'm not afraid of her. I'll ask for you, okay?" I thought for a minute.

"Okay…" I said slowly. "But don't make it sound like I'm a slut!"

"You know me, why would I do that?" she said. I rolled my eyes. "One more question though, Ar."

"What is it?"

"What are you going to tell Boromir?" she asked before closing the door behind her. My eye twitched as I stared at the wood. I blinked. Aw crap. What was I going to tell Boromir!!! That's he's gonna be father? This was the most inconvenient time ever to have a baby! We were in the middle of a war for heaven's sake! I was going to have to look after a child… I had to be responsible for someone other than me. I wasn't on my own anymore; now I had Boromir and the baby with me… that is, if I am pregnant… Oh who am I kidding! Of course I'm the one to get knocked up on Middle Earth! I'm the one never thinking before acting. I'm the one who rushes head first into things. I suppose I deserve this; after all it is my fault. I was never good with kids to begin with, but maybe with a baby of my own the whole maternal instinct will kick in. Ugh! I didn't want o get fat! And this baby was going to make me fat, I just knew it! Fatter than most pregnant people, that's for sure. Y'know I should have seen this coming. Boromir and I did it, _twice_. Of course I was gonna get pregnant! Just _why_ are the signs this early! It doesn't make sense! But the twenty some elfish tests don't lie. Mrrrrggg.

"Artemis!" a cry rang through my room making me jump up freaked out. Gwen glided into the room.

"Jeez! Why do you have to interrupt me when I'm thinking? It always just freaks me out!" I grumbled.

"Sorry," she said yet she kept grinning.

"What's got you in such a fine mood?" I asked.

"Galadriel said she could meet with you briefly. Actually she said that she was hoping that you could meet with her, something about what she saw in your past."

"Great…"I grumbled. Gwen grabbed my arm and started tugging me out the door.

"C'mon, I can't let you wander by yourself. You'll get lost, probably on purpose too," she berated.

"Oh quit your whining elf girl, I'm cooperating aren't I?"I said falling in step with her pace. "Now, where are we going exactly?"

"She said to meet her in the hospital wing, she saw in my mind that you were pregnant," Gwen said.

"Great, the omniscient elf already knows I'm knocked up!" I grumbled again. Gwen just huffed a sigh and lead me to where I could only assume was the hospital wing. I was rather disappointed when I saw no Madame Pomfrey there, but we can't all get what we want now can we?

"I need a Pepperup potion," I grumbled, plopping down on one of the various beds. Gwen looked at me strangely; I get that look a lot around here.

"Ah, there you are, Gwendelín. And Lady Artemis," said Galadriel sweeping into the room. I decided not to complain about the use of 'lady' as a title; mainly I didn't want to be mind tortured again. I have to admit, when she's in broad daylight, Galadriel isn't nearly as intimidating; probably because she's not surrounded by that weird bluish glow.

"Yeeeah… hi," I said, edging away from her on the bed.

"I have to go now," Gwen said to me. "I can't be late for my classes; I can't miss another one if I want to be a healer."

"No! Don't leave me with the scary elf lady!" I pleaded, looking at said elf lady panicky.

"Sorry, Ar!" she said, skipping out of the room, bowing to Galadriel as she left.

"Traitor…" I grumbled.

"I hope that you are well," Galadriel said taking a seat on the bed across from me, although somehow she managed to sit so she looked much more regal, where I was just a heap on the bed. I scrambled to sit up straighter.

"Not exactly," I said. "I keep throwing up."

"Yes, but I believe that you are with child, am I right?

"Pfft…" I mumbled. "I guess so…"

"And that you wanted to know why so suddenly, am I correct?" she said in her slow melodic voice.

"Yeeeah… that would be nice to know. Cuz like, it's only been one day and all…" I said avoiding her gaze. I'm sorry, but even though she's now less intimidating, I'm still scared of Galadriel.

"The answer is simple enough," Galadriel said. "You are an Elithicon."

"Meaning?"

"Elithicons are very quick reproducers."

"So?"

"Lady Artemis," I flinched at the use of the word lady. I'm pretty sure she noticed but just continued anyways, "because you are an Elithicon, that means that what would take months for a human to have a child, takes you only days. A human would typically give birth around nine months after conception. You will give birth around four months after. The blood that flows through your veins, your race, speeds up the entire developing process. This explains why none of the tests were wrong and also why you're showing symptoms this early." Comprehension dawned on my face.

"And the reason only you would know about this was because you were there when my people fell. Because you know about the Elithicons?" I said understanding everything just a bit more.

"Yes," she said. "Actually, I knew your people rather well. Your mother and father were some of my dearest friends. I am truly sorry for my rather intrusive interrogation the other day. I did not realize you were Asandromeda's daughter."

"Asandromeda?" I asked, kind of a kooky name; yepp sounds like mi familia. "That was my mother?"

"Yes," Galadriel said smiling sadly. "She was a dear friend."

"What was my father's name?" I asked.

"Your father was Haronir," she spoke softly. "He was a very brave man. I see his strength in you." I didn't know really what to say to that. Then a question popped into my mind.

"Wait a sec, why didn't Gandalf tell me all this?"

"I believe Gandalf told you what he could when he could. He probably meant to tell you more in due time, but fell into shadow before he had the chance," she said sadly, softly mourning for the loss of the great wizard. _But he's not dead! _I wanted to yell… ah well, they'll find out sooner or later.

"Great…" I mumbled. "So like in a week, I'm gonna be all fat and stuff, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes," she said with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "But don't worry; it's only for four months, not nine."

"Great, that's just blooming wonderful!" I cried hysterically. "I hate being fat! I've been there, done that! Took years to work of all that blubber, and now I just get to gain it all back right after I lost it. This is terrific!" Galadriel raised an eyebrow at me; I'm pretty sure she was amused at this point.

"Not to change the topic, but I also wanted to talk to you about something else," she said.

"What?"

"When I looked into your mind, I saw something. An image that frankly surprised me. Never before have had I heard of an Elithicon who can look into the future." I stared at her, not quite getting what she was saying. Then it clicked.

"You saw me see Boromir's death," I said hollowly.

"Yes, I am very sorry for putting you in such anguish the day before. I was not intentionally meaning to hurt you. I just couldn't believe that an Elithicon had seen the future." I grimaced at the memory.

"Heads up, lady," I grumbled. "I don't _see the future_. It's called 'In my universe, this entire world is a book, a book that I have read numerous times and know the ending to.' I know what's gonna happen next because in my world, it's already happened in a story. In my world, none of this actually exists." Galadriel raised her eyebrows at me.

"That is very interesting…" she said her eyes locking with mine. My eyes widened as I realized what she was trying to do, and I snapped my eyelids shut in an instant.

"Oh no you don't!" I cried covering my eyes with my hands. "Don't you mind read me! I refuse to tell you what happens next! That would be called cheating, Mrs. I'm-so-perfect-and-honorable-elf-lady! Hell to the no!"

"Fine," I heard her sigh.

"I don't believe you!" I said hand still covering my eyes.

"I promise I will not look into your mind about the future."

"NO! You have to promise you won't ever look into my mind about _anything_ again unless I say so!"

Silence. And then…

"Fine. I swear that I will not look into your mind unless you give me permission."

"I still don't believe you! You could have your fingers crossed!" I could almost swear I heard her rolling her eyes.

"I swear on pain of death-"

"No!" I huffed. "You're immortal and are never in battle. There is no logical reason that you could die!" *hears Galadriel roll her eyes again*

"Well, then what do you suggest so you can open your eyes so you won't go running into walls on your way back to your quarters?" I thought for a minute.

"Make the unbreakable vow!" I hissed in a Bellatrix-like way.

"The what?"

"Damn. Does no one know what an unbreakable vow is?!" I said exasperated.

"In all my years I have never heard of an unbreakable vow," she said.

"That because you haven't read Harry Potter! Stupid house elves…"

"Here, how about this. I swear upon the Elven race that I will not look into your mind unless you give me permission. Happy?" I thought for a minute.

"If you break your promise can I kill Legolas?"

"Why would you want to kill Legolas?"

"Because he's too pretty for a boy."

"Point taken."

"So, do we have a deal?"

"Minus the killing Legolas part, yes we have a deal."

"Pfffft… fine. Let's shake on it," I said, blindly putting my hand forward, which ended up almost smacking Galadriel in the face, good (or bad) thing for elfish reflexes. She took my hand and shook it and I cautiously removed my hand and opened my eyes. Galadriel was shaking her head at me. I hmphed at her crossing my arms defensively.

"Now," she said. "I believe that you would want to go eat, Valar knows you must be starving."

"Yeah, let's just hope I don't puke it up. Little junior here needs nutrients," I said patting my stomach.

"You and the Fellowship are to stay here for another week, refreshing your strength and gathering more supplies. Meanwhile, I do believe that there is some medicine that can keep that morning sickness at bay."

"Siriusly!?" I said happily. "Woot to having a baby on Middle Earth!" Galadriel shook her head as I danced around in excitement.

"I'll leave it in your quarters. You'll take it before bed, and it will stop the sickness in the morning."

"Thank you," I said walking toward the door, my stomach leading the way. Galadriel swept past me and out the door. She paused and turned back to look at me.

"Just as a parting thought, when are you planning to tell Boromir? Farewell," she said sweeping off like the elf lady she was, leaving me with my mouth hanging open, looking like a fish out of water. Blood turned to ice in my veins. What was I going to tell Boromir again?

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hope that explained to you all about why she was showing signs this early :) please no flames guys

as always READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!! (just press that little button on the bottom and leave a review :D preety preety preety pleasse!!!)


	10. Of Embarrassing Haughty Elves

well guesses what guys!? not much of a wait on the update, now is it? :D just moved in, and i was so spazzing hyper that i wrote an entire chapter in one night. :) hope you guys like it... she goes off a bit crazy in this one :)

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Chapter 9: Of Cravings, Singing, and Publicly Embarrassing Haughty Elves

I stumbled to dinner grudgingly. Stupid elves with their ability to leave you in deep troubling thought. I didn't want to see Boromir at dinner; I don't know what I would say. 'We're having a kid!' I could say. Yeah right, and watch his face pale and have him running from the room. But if we were gonna get married that meant he was expecting an heir at some point right? Maybe he would be happy, even if the timing was the worst timing in the world. Then again, it was our faults. I knew I shouldn't have jumped him; jumping hot guys when you're not on the pill can only lead to bad things! I wonder if they have stuff like that here… ah well too late for it now anyways.

I trudged into the dining hall with a craving for pudding. And then I saw it, there at the end of the buffet-like table… chocolate pudding. I can imagine that anyone standing in that room thought I was crazy, for I gave a battle cry and sprinted over to the pudding, and began heaping unhealthy amounts of it onto my plate. I'm still surprised the thin plate managed to hold that amount of delicious chocolate pudding. I slumbered over to a seat at the table and started shoveling pudding into my mouth. I was basically unaware of anything around me until a rather snide voice spoke.

"In the mood for pudding aren't we?" I looked up and saw Haldir sitting across from me, with heaps of healthy hippie crap on his plate. I refrained from rolling my eyes with great difficulty.

"Oh shove off, Malfoy," I grumbled at him. Although since my mouth was full of pudding it probably sounded like, "Shmoove oof schmulfooy." He raised an eyebrow at me. I glared at him.

"Sorry, couldn't understand you, princess of gracefulness." I managed to swallow all of my pudding, although I still probably looked ridiculous with pudding all over my face.

"Why are you such a bully?" I asked. "Did I do something to offend you? Or do you just take joy in insulting those who you believe are lower than you?"

"Neither," he said in his nasally voice. "I've just never seen a person so obsessed with pudding."

"Well, I'm sorry I tarnished your record, elf boy," I shot back at him. "Jeez, what is it with elves and their thinking that their better than everyone. Meh, Legolas… that prat…" I murmured to no one in particular.

"So, you have a fancy with the prince of Mirkwood?" he said just pushing my buttons more and more. I glared at him and shoveled more pudding down my throat.

"You know you're going to get fat if you eat that much pudding," he taunted. That struck a nerve. My eyes widened and I glared at him. With all I was going through, finding out that I was going to have a baby bump in a week's time, and the whole getting fat again thing, that comment just made everything personal. I was deciding between cutting off his head or castrating him, when I thought of one of my favorite scenes in a movie known as 17 Again. I grinned devilishly rubbing my hands together in an evil plot.

"Y'know, leading psychologists say that elves like you are bullies for one of three reasons," I said shoving pudding in my mouth.

"Oh do pray tell," he said snidely as Pippin, Merry, Frodo, Sam, and Gimli all decided to sit down beside us at this particular moment. They sat there staring at us, waiting for me to continue. I shrugged my shoulders.

"You asked for it," I said sighing. "One... underneath all that male bravado there's an insecure little girl just banging on the closet door trying to get out," I said narrating to the hobbits and dwarf between bites of pudding. "Two... like a caveman Haldir's brain is... underdeveloped, therefore Haldir is unable to use self control so he has to act aggressively." I smirked at Haldir; we had an audience of elves and the rest of the Fellowship, meaning Legolas, Aragorn, and Boromir. "Or three," I said smiling serenely at him, "Haldir has a small wiener." The crowd's reaction was brilliant. Gimli started laughing extremely loud at this, and everyone followed in suit. Even Legolas, Aragorn, and Boromir were chuckling. Haldir's face was the color of a cherry tomato, and I was having a blast. I leaned toward him.

"Judging by your reaction, it's the third," I whispered smirking at him. "So next time you feel like bullying someone, remember, they know why you're a bully, and by being a bully, you're just making a fool of yourself." Haldir excused himself from the table, and hurried out of the room, tripping over the threshold. HAHAA! I made an elf lose balance! Suddenly this day didn't seem so bad after all. I love the people who wrote the script for 17 Again.

Boromir plopped down next to me, stealing a bite of my pudding before digging into his own food. For now I just decided that I would act normal, like I hadn't found out a bit of life-changing news or anything.

"It does seem like you are in the mood for pudding," he chuckled. I shrugged.

"I want pudding; they had pudding. So I'm eating pudding," I said.

"Well, that show you put on with Haldir was brilliant," said Aragorn filling in said elf's empty seat. "He's a good person at heart, but sometimes he does need to be told off on things."

"My pleasure, gentlemen," I said taking a mocking bow. "Every month or so, I will show up and put Haldir back in his place. The first time's free. After that, it's gonna cost ya." They grinned at me and started eating their food. I licked my plate clean and then got up to get seconds. I returned back to my seat with about a foot high of pudding on my plate. Boromir's eyes widened at the sight.

"Ar, don't you think that _is_ just a tiny bit unhealthy?" he said. I glared at him.

"I want pudding, and so I'll eat my pudding!" I growled at him, acting like I was Gollum and the pudding plate was the Ring. Legolas, Aragorn, and Boromir looked at me kinda scared as I started attacking my plate of pudding. Legolas leaned over to Aragorn.

"She's probably PMS-ing," he tried to whisper discreetly. I glared daggers at him.

"Oh yes, gang up on Artemis cuz she's a female!" I cried hysterically, waving my spoon around in the air, spraying bits of pudding everywhere. "Just because I'm the only fucking girl here means that you all have to treat me like I'm ignorant!"

"Artemis?" Aragorn looked at me warily.

"Don't you give me that look!" I cried at him, practically flinging pudding all over the place. "I AM NOT CRAZY!"The hobbits edged away from me in their seats. Only Gimli didn't look shaken by my whacko behavior.

"Y'know what?" I said. "I'm going to go get some pie. Because maybe you won't criticize the pie like you do the pudding! PREJUDICE PEOPLE!" And then I stormed off to go get some pie. I heard Legolas distinctly mutter behind me, "Women."

I turned around and stomped back over to them and looked Legolas right in the eye. He cowered back in fear. And then… I blew a great big fat raspberry at him, sticking my tongue out at him in a most childish way. Why? Because I felt like it, that's why. Legolas looked at me in shock. I started laughing hysterically and then lumbered over to the buffet to get some cherry pie.

And then I waltzed back over to the table and plopped down in my seat again.

"So," I said between bites, "anything eventful happen in your guys' days?" They just stared at me for a second, until Aragorn spoke.

"Well, it looks like we're going to be staying here for about another week or so," he said.

"Yeah, that's what Galadriel said too," I said.

"Galadriel? You spoke to Galadriel?" asked Boromir. "Why?" My eyes widened and I started shoving more pie in my mouth.

"Artemis?" asked Aragorn.

"Shmoofmph mphinghp an' drnfoof frepooph smphoorooph," I said swallowing my pie at the end of my made up ramble. Everyone just stared at me weird.

"Could you repeat that?" Legolas asked naively. I glared at him.

"Just because you have stupid Elven hearing didn't hear me the first time, doesn't mean I have to repeat myself!" I ranted before eating more pie. They just looked at me strangely. Aragorn shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to more food. The rest followed in suit a second or two later. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for avoiding telling them the truth using the femininely gift of PMS-ing. The rest of the meal was rather boring, although I did eat a pound or two more of pudding. We chatted about the day and what we had done. As soon as we were finished, I got up, determined to find Gwen and talk things out with her. But as I wandered the trees of Lórien, I saw two blonde figures walking through the garden below me. Upon further investigation, I saw it was Gwen, and the man beside her was Legolas. I aaaaawww!-ed at them and decided to leave them be. I sighed and started wandering the gardens of Lothlórien, knowing that I was going to get lost one way or another, but it was so beautiful here, that I didn't really care if I got lost or not. I sat on a rather large boulder on the ground, staring at the beautiful sky. I started singing to myself again, like I do when I get bored.

"_Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius  
I don't feel any pain  
A little fall of rain  
Can hardly hurt me now  
You're here, that's all I need to know  
And you will keep me safe  
And you will keep me close  
And rain will make the flowers grow."_

"Hey you," said a voice. I whirled around to see Boromir smirking at my shocked expression.

"What is with you and sneaking up on people?! Geez Boromir…" I scolded him.

"Was not my intention, to be sure," he said sitting beside me on the boulder.

"Well, then what was your intention?" I asked.

"To spend time with my beautiful fiancé," he said kissing my forehead gently. I loved Boromir so much; why didn't they ever show this side of him in the movies? Right, because they were prejudice… oh, well. As long as I had Boromir here, I was happy.

"I'm sorry I was acting weird over dinner," I sighed into his arm.

"It's alright," he chuckled. "Actually, it was rather amusing."

"Glad you enjoyed it," I said, hitting him playfully on the arm.

"What was it you were singing just then?" he asked me. I sighed.

"It's just a song from a musical in my universe," I said.

"It was very beautiful, but I didn't understand what it was about," he said wrapping an arm around me.

"Well, it's actually a duet. This girl named Eponine is dying, but the man she loves, Marius, is holding her in his arms. It's a rather tragic love story really. I just sang a little bit of the beginning."

"That is a sad story," Boromir said. "But it is only a story."

"Yes, but remember?" I said. "Everything here was only supposed to be a story as well."

"But it's not anymore," he whispered. "Now you're here in my arms." We sat there in silence for a while just staring at the stars.

"Teach it to me," Boromir said. I looked at him questioningly. "The song, teach me the man's part."

"You sure you want to sing? Can Gondorians even sing in the first place?" I asked teasingly.

"Gondorians can too sing, maybe not as well as you, but to be honest, I don't think I'm that terrible," he grinned.

"Fine," I said. I sang the song through once for him, singing both parts. And then I tried to teach him Marius's part. He got it down rather well, but we had to rehearse it a couple of times before he knew the words by heart.

"The words are very beautiful," he commented. "And the melody, just as beautiful. Nearly as beautiful as you."I blushed at him.

"Now, you're just quoting Braveheart," I said, even though I knew he had no idea what Braveheart even was.

"What's Braveheart?" he asked.

"Another movie, which, in time, I will explain to you. Just not now. C'mon! SING FOR ME!!!" I said in a deep voice like the Phantom. He just raised an eyebrow at me and I giggled.

"_Don't you fret, M'sieur Boromir  
I don't feel any pain  
A little fall of rain  
Can hardly hurt me now  
You're here, that's all I need to know  
And you will keep me safe  
And you will keep me close  
And rain will make the flowers grow."_

"_But you will live, Artemis - dear God above,  
If I could heal your wounds with words of love."_

_"Just hold me now, and let it be.  
Shelter me, comfort me."_

_"You would live a hundred years  
If I could show you how  
I won't desert you now..."_

_"The rain can't hurt me now  
This rain will wash away what's past  
And you will keep me safe  
And you will keep me close  
I'll sleep in your embrace at last._

_The rain that brings you here  
Is Heaven-blessed!  
The skies begin to clear  
And I'm at rest  
A breath away from where you are  
I've come home from so far."_

Then we started singing together at the same time.

"_So don't you fret, M'sieur Boromir  
I don't feel any pain  
A little fall of rain_

_Can hardly hurt me now."_

"_Hush-a-bye, dear Artemis,  
You won't feel any pain  
A little fall of rain  
Can hardly hurt you now."_

_  
"I'm here…" _Boromir whispered.

"_That's all I need to know  
And you will keep me safe_

_And you will keep me close."_

_  
"I will stay with you  
Till you are sleeping…"_

_  
"And rain..." _I sang softly.

_  
"And rain..."_

_  
"Will make the flowers..."_

"_Will make the flowers..."_ Boromir paused, and I flopped against him, pretending to be dead. _"Grow..."_

"That was a very sad song until you pretended to be dead there. I think it's your acting skills that do it," he commented and I smacked him playfully.

"I am a _wonderful_ actress for your information. Just because you don't see doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't!" I joked.

"You are very right my dear," he smiled. "You are a brilliant (_he kissed me_) wonderful (_kiss)_, spectacular (_kiss)_, gorgeous _(kiss)_ actress."

"Y'know, you can't always get your way just by kissing me," I said lazily.

"I know, but who says I won't kiss you just because I love you?" he said.

"I loves you too, darling," I poked him in the ribs.

"Your sense of humor is unlike any other I have ever encountered," he said.

"Imagine how boring your life would be if I hadn't showed up and demonstrated my wonderful sense of humor for you," I said. "You would be a complete stick in the mud."

"And my life wouldn't be as musical as it is now," he smiled. "I can't go a day without having one of your universe's melodies stuck in my head."

"That's the brilliance of Broadway," I said. "One day I'm going to teach you all the words to Phantom of the Opera."

"Sounds lovely," he grinned.

"One day, I'm going to tell you all the stories I know. Like Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, the Patriot, Terminator, etc… your noggin's gonna be chucked full of these basically useless stories I obsess over."

"Can't wait, my dear," he said pulling me to my feet. "But now it is time for me to lead you back to your room. You'll get lost otherwise."

"Do none of you trust my sense of direction?!" I huffed.

"You have no sense of direction. Only Aragorn, Legolas, and I actually have a sense of direction. You, the hobbits, and the dwarf are basically useless when it comes to direction."

"Yeah, well the only reason Leggy can direct so well is because he has super special senses. I mean, c'mon, what is he?! Spiderman?! _Ooooh, my Leggy senses are tingling!_ Stupid elves."

"What is Spiderman?" he asked curiously.

"Another epic trilogy, soon to be a quadrouplegy, in my universe that I will have to tell you someday," I sighed. "But alas, my time is too short to tell you it tonight."

"You must tell me it some other time then?" he asked.

"Eh, I'll tell you Star Wars first. It's waaaaay better then Spiderman," I shrugged. "No, I'll tell you Harry Potter first. That's the one I basically know by heart."

"Why is his name 'hairy'?" Boromir asked. "Is he a hobbit?" I started laughing uncontrollably.

"HAAHAHA!" I snorted. "No, no, no… his name is spelled H-A-R-R-Y. I don't think he's unusually hairy in any way… then again I've never actually met him, so how would I know?"

"How would you know indeed," Boromir chuckled. He came to a halt and I noticed that we were outside our rooms. I had been so absorbed in our conversation that I hadn't really noticed where we were going. "This is where I bid you goodnight, my darling."

"Oh no you don't; don't you think you're gonna get away that easily. I'm gonna change into my PJs then I'll be in your room in a minute," I smirked, kissing him on the nose and darting into my room before he could protest (though I doubt he was going to).

I hastily threw my clothes off, and hopped over to my dresser, pulling my pajamas on. On the bedside table was a clear elixir in a glass bottle with a crystal stopper. This must be the morning sickness medicine Galadriel had promised me. I smirked pulling out the stopper; cheers to having a baby on Middle Earth. I eyed the liquid curiously. For all I could know it could be Veritaserum. But alas, this was Middle Earth, not Hogwarts. I gulped it down in one mouthful. It tasted remotely like sugar water, a mellow sweet taste. I smiled, happy that it didn't really taste bad at all. Then the smile slid off my face as I realized just why I was taking this medicine again. I was having a baby. I was going to have to take care of someone other than myself, a baby. I didn't know how to care for a baby, but I knew I was going to have to. I'm surprised I hadn't been freaking out about what to say to Boromir when I had just talked with him. I was so distracted by our conversation that I didn't even remember the life-changing bit of news I had just received. Should I tell him tonight? No. I wouldn't, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow I would tell him… I shrugged, putting my troubling thoughts out of my mind for now. I was happy for once in my life, so I was going to enjoy it until it ran out. I was a procrastinator; procrastinating is what I do. So I skipped out the door, quietly slipping into Boromir's room, silently thanking Gwen for putting our rooms right next together; that elf was brilliant with her devious mind.

I snuck over to Boromir's bed and slipped under the covers.

"Hey," I mumbled.

"Hey," he murmured back. "Long time, no see." I snuggled up beside him, his arm wrapped around my shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah," I sighed. All thoughts of naughty activities flew from my mind as my body registered how genuinely tired I was. My eyes itched with sleep and I felt myself drifting off. Boromir was doing to same; it seemed like an unspoken question that our weary bodies both answered. Tonight we would literally only be sleeping together.

"Night," I mumbled into his chest. I didn't hear if he answered or not; I was out cold as soon as the words left my lips, drifting into peaceful, undisturbed sleep.

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hope you guys liked it! :) read and reviews please!!!


	11. Announcement 2!

Heyy guys!!! Well, as you can see this isn't an actual chapter but an announcement. Well, it's _another _announcement. I decided to take a stab at drawing what I think Artemis would look like, so I wanted to give you guys the link to it in case you guys wanted to see it! :D the link's below

http:// wolverineluver45 .deviantart .com/ art/ Artemis-Draycott-150439906

if you guys copy and paste that, take out the spaces i added in between the 45 and .deviantart, also in between .com/ art/ Artemis. it wouldnt let me paste the url unless it was broken up :( hmph.

if this still doesnt work than you guys can just go to deviantart. com and type in Artemis Draycott in the search box. it'll be the only one to come up :) yuppers!

sorry guys who saw this before i just updated it today (Jan, 27) i thought i had put all of the url there, but i hadnt! but i put it up now :) happyness! :D

PS You know what would be totally awesome, but would never ever, ever happen? If some of you people drew fanart for my fanfiction! I don't really know how to phrase that without it sounding arrogant, but imagine that you're writing your own fanfiction. Wouldn't it be the bee's knees if someone drew you fanart for your writing!? I think it'd be pretty neat just thought I should post my thoughts… I'll be updating the next chapter as soon as I can! I love you all!!!


	12. More Proposals! :D

Haha people, know what I noticed that I thought was kinda funny? When Boromir makes his sad little wistful speech about Gondor after Galadriel mind rapes him, he talks about the White Tower of Ecthelion. I didn't really realize that Artemis's race is a _really, really, really_ close spelling to that… Ecthelion vs. Elithicon…. Hehehe. Whoopsies :D

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My next days at Lórien were pretty uneventful, other than the time yesterday when I found Legolas and Gwen making out when I walked around I corner. Not even Galadriel's medicine could stop me from vomiting at the sight of that. I mean, come on! It's Legolas!!! ICK! Ah well, I guess I won't be able to hate him anymore if Gwen and him get married. Well… maybe I still could… I don't even know why I don't like him! He's probably actually a pretty nice guy, and I actually _do_ like his _character_, but when I see him in the flesh I have to resist the urge to go up and kick him. Must be my intense dislike for bottle blondes…

I kept thinking about _when_ I was going to tell Boromir, cuz I'm pretty sure that sooner or later he was going to notice a baby bump growing on my stomach… especially with the whole thing about the baby developing twice as fast with my being Elithicon and all… I just didn't know when. And I was dreading leaving Lórien, dreading traveling to Amon Hen, dreading the death of my fiancé. I knew what I had to do. I had to save him; I don't know how, but I know I have to. I've thought it over at least a million times, and came to the conclusion that if- no, _when _Boromir survived Amon Hen, his existence would not alter any part of the story except maybe

Denethor's death… which I was really looking forward to, which means that in order to save Boromir, that means his dad's gotta live to. I absolutely HATE Denethor. He is the biggest jerk in the world! Which was going to be a problem if he found out that I was carrying Boromir's child, cuz then I'd have to be near him, and just…. Ew. Maybe I could set him on fire myself, and then push him off a cliff?... hehehe….

I have to tell Boromir soon though; I don't know how long I can just go on like this and ignore the fact that I'M HAVING A BABY. Meh… I sat down sadly on a rock overlooking Lórien. It was so beautiful here; everything just seemed to glow. If I didn't know the story, I would've never guessed that there was a war going on involving these people. I felt a weight on my shoulders, and I just needed to get it off.

"Hello," said a voice. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked around. It was Legolas.

"Eh, hey Leggy," I said. "What's new with you? Besides the fact that you were snogging my best friend…" His pale face tinged pink a bit at that and I smirked.

"Sorry about that," he said looking like he regretted ever coming to talk to me chuckled evilly. Why did I chuckle evilly? Because I just did, that's why.

"Siriusly though, why are you here?" I asked.

"I actually did want to talk to you about Gwen," he said.

"Oh really?" I said. "Well, it seems as though I'm psychic, don't it? What about her?"

"First of all, I would like to apologize for you having to see that, and second of all, I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" I asked confused. "For what?"

"I know that you set us up together," he smiled softly sitting on a rock beside me. "Gwen told me."

"Traitor," I hissed under my breath. "Ah well, she was very taken with you and as a friend of hers, I decided that it was up to me to get you two together. Although I have no idea why she's interested in you at all. I mean- she's brilliant and all, but you… you're just kinda there." He raised an eyebrow at me. "That and I was surprised that you actually liked women, after that ravishing kiss with Aragorn you had in the mountains." He flushed scarlet and I started laughing loudly.

"That was a dare that you made me do!" he hissed at me. "I am too very attracted to women! Not men!" He was fuming now.

"Really?" I said with mocking surprise. "I would've never guessed! You know, the _passion_ you put into that dare, was just heart wrenchingly beautiful!"

"Shut your mouth!" he said crossing his arms in a very child-like fashion. I grinned.

"Oh fine, pissy elf you are. What did you want to talk about Gwen with me?" I asked rolling my eyes.

"Well, erm- I don't know really how to say this… but I know it's only been a week since I've met her, but I know that I'm in love Gwendelín." I looked at him blankly, clearly not getting it.

"And?" I asked.

"And I want to ask her to be my wife," he said nervously. "I- I don't really know how to ask her… and… well, since you're the mastermind, I- well… how do I ask her?" I stared at him.

"AW! This is so like a Disney movie!!!!" I said jumping up and starting to dance around. "Even though I hate you to no end, I'm so happy for you two!!!" He looked relieved that he had managed to get that all out.

"Artemis- I don't know what to say or how to ask her!" he said desperately. "What do I do?" I was kind of amused by this, mainly because I've never seen an elf ask a human for help on anything at all, plus Leggy and I hate each other.

"Well, you have to say the words "Will you marry me?" to her and then she answers "yes" or "no." It's pretty straightforward."

"I know that!" he said "I just- well, where and when do you think I should ask her? What would be romantic?" I nearly gagged at that… Legolas just is not meant to say the word "romantic." It's just not right.

"Hmmm…" I paced the ground thinking. "Well, ask her at night and outside, cuz this whole place glows and it's just beautiful. Ooooh! Take her to a place that overlooks all of Lórien, and have a rose, and an engagement ring of course! You have to sweep her into your arms and pour your heart out into beautiful ballad! And then she'll know for sure…"

"Know what?" he asked.

"How much you really love her," I said in the most Disney Princess way I could. I turned and looked at him. "You can't sing can you?"

"I can too!" he protested. "But I think it seems cheesy."

"Not if you really love her!" I hmphed at him.

"But I do!" he said.

"Then sing to her!" I said excitedly. "I'm the matchmaker, do what I say!"

"Fine, fine!" he said. "I'll sing to her! Jeez…"

"Haay, "jeez" is my thing. You no takey my thing!" I glared at him.

"Sorry!" he said. "You're bound to rub off on people eventually! It's not something I'm too happy with!"

"Well, by the time I'm finished with you, you're gonna have this song memorized so well that you could sing it in your sleep! And you had better sing to her or I will _make _you sing to her."

_Much, much later…_

"Nearly got it!" I said conducting Legolas wearily. "Again."

"_So say you'll share with me one love one lifetime. Lead me save me from my solitude… say you need me with you, here beside you. Anywhere you go let me go to, Gwendelín, that's all I ask of you…"_

"Brilliant!" I said. "Now try the first song again."

"_Never knew I could feel like this… like I've never seen the sky before. Want to vanish inside your kiss… seasons may change winter to spring, but I'll love you until my dying day. Come what may! Come what may! I will love you until my dying day!" _

"Wonderful!" I said plopping down on the ground exhausted. Legolas was a much slower learner than Boromir, even though dear old Leggy did have a better voice. "You are now ready to go sing to Gwen, and ask her to marry you. Remember, sing 'Come What May' first, then 'All I Ask of You.'"

"Right," he said looking nervous. If I wasn't so tired I would have laughed at dear old Legolas. He looked hysterical! Like a teenage boy trying to ask out a girl for the first time. Not to mention, Legolas is over 100 years old! You have to admit, it's at least a little funny.

"Now shoo!" I said. "Go ask mah bestest friend to marry you! And so help me Valar, if you mess up I will kill you! Well… maybe just torture you… hm…"

"Stop thinking about how to torture me."

"Fine," I grumbled. "Now go!" He nodded a smile of thanks at me and skipped out the metaphorical door. Psssha, elves.

And then a charmingly rugged lord of Gondor came through my metaphorical door and I smiled again.

"Did Legolas just skip by me?" he asked sitting beside me on the soft ground. I smiled wearily.

"Yep," I said. "He's off to propose to Gwen by singing to her."

"Singing?" he asked surprised. "Why?"

"Because it's romantic," I said leaning on Boromir's shoulder smiling. He pulled me onto his lap and cradled me in his arms. I smiled at him… this is the life. No thoughts, no worries, no unplanned pregnancy… dangit. Stupid unplanned pregnancy. Boromir kissed my lips softly and I smiled sadly into it. Boromir pulled back, his eyes questioning me.

"What's wrong?" he asked tucking the stray strands of hair behind my ear.

"It's nothing," I said brushing it aside. "I'm fine."

"Please don't insult my intelligence," he said. "I know you better than that; you're not fine. What is it?" he asked gently. I frowned at myself. Should I tell him now? I didn't want to; now that it came to it, I didn't want to tell Boromir. I was scared, and I don't even know why I was scared. There was nothing scary about Boromir… I just was scared to tell him…. but why?

"I don't know what's wrong," I said slowly. It was true… I didn't. "I just- I don't know. I just wish that everything had a fairy tale ending…"

"It can if you want it to," Boromir said softly. "Remember what you would always say? _The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves._" (pudding for anyone who knows what movie that's a quote from!)

"Yes, but it's so hard to make our own fate," I said. "I just want things to play out good by themselves."

"I know," he said. "I know…" He hugged me closer to his chest, and I decided that I wasn't going to tell him. Not now, but soon. Before it was too late.

"Y'know, Legolas was much harder to teach songs to than you," I said after a minute of silence. Boromir chuckled into my hair.

"I was always a quick learner, although I would've thought that Legolas's Elven senses could've made it easier for him."

"Yeah, well, not really… it took hours to teach him _only two songs_! TWO songs. You learned one in fifteen minutes. He took an hour!" I ranted.

"Calm down, it's not a crime to be slow to learning songs," he chuckled.

"I think it's because he's immortal that he thinks he can take up years learning things that should only take up days. Stupid elf."

"So, Legolas is proposing to Gwen?" he said thoughtfully. "You think she'll say yes?"

"Of course!" I said. "I may hate the guy, but she's totally in love with him. Plus, I know Gwen; she loves music to death, a thing we have in common. She'll be swooning as soon as he opens his mouth to sing."

"He's that good huh?"

"He's got a better voice than you, if that's what you mean," I said. "But just to let you know, I love your voice a lot better. Reason one: I love you, two: I hate him. Mainly, I love you."

"If that was a clever way of telling me that you love me, than I too love you," he said smiling. We sat there in silence for awhile, just enjoying each other's company.

And then…

"ARTEMIS!!!!!" screamed an extremely elf-like high pitched voice. Gwen skidded around the corner, face flushed with excitement. "Artemis, Artemis, Artemis!"

"Gwen, Gwen, Gwen!" I mocked back at her, smiling knowingly.

"Legolas proposed to me!" she exclaimed happily. "HE PROPOSED. To _me_! OH. MY. VALAR." I hopped up from Boromir's arms, and he too got to his feet.

"Gwen, I'm so happy for you!" I cried giving her a great big hug. "You two are so cute together!"

"I am so happy right now, I feel like I could fly!" she was hopping up and down, not able to sit still. "And guess what, Ar?! He _sang_ to me! It was so amazing!!!"

"I know, darling!" I said. "I taught him the songs! He was so nervous, that it was actually kind of endearing and sweet. But I can't wait for the wedding!"

"You have to be my maid of honor!" she said excitedly.

"Of course I will!" I said. "Hey, when is the wedding going to be?" I asked.

"It will have to be after the Fellowship leaves Lórien; there is no time for it; you leave tomorrow."

"When we come back after this quest is over, you must get married at once!" I exclaimed happily. I hugged Gwen again, so excited for my dear friend. I saw Boromir start to leave the girl-fest and he turned to me and mouthed,

"_I'm just gonna go now_." I laughed and shook my head at him as he slinked away to leave us to talk about all the girly things in the world. And oh did we girly talk, down from the last sequin on both our wedding dresses to how we would each be our other's maid of honor.

"I wonder if I'll have had the baby by either of our weddings?" I wondered aloud.

"I have no idea. Which reminds me, have you told Boromir yet?" I groaned.

"No! I'm going to soon though! I promise; there was the perfect time to tell him and I chickened out. I don't even know why I chickened out! I just did…"

"It's okay," she soothed. "You'll tell him sometime soon. Remember, only Galadriel, I, and obviously you know about the baby."

"Yeah… I know…"

Little did they know that behind a hedge nearby, a pissy blonde elf skulked, and had heard every word of their conversation.

And that elf's name happened to be Haldir…

*cue dramatic music*

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MUAHAHAHA! A little cliffhanger for you! What will dear Haldir do with the information he just received? Next time on…. _The Adventures of Lórien!_

So did you guys like this chapter? I hopes y'all did! I love music so much, and I just wanted to share a few of the songs I love with you guys! (cookies for anyone who knows which musicals the songs were from!) Me and Broadway are bffs, fer-hur shure! Yeahhh, I can't wait until the weddings! Which unfortunately due to timing won't be until _after_ Return of the King… meh. Then there's the question, will Boromir even survive to make it to his own wedding??? (there's a piece for y'all to chew on) hmmm…. Next time on…. _The Adventures of Lórien!_

PS To all you reviewers I can't reply back to for some weird reason…. I love you guys! Thanks so much for reviewing! It makes me want to tapdance! I love tapdancing (although I can't really dance at all) and I love all of you guys that I have already replied to as well!! I LOVE REVIWERS! YOU GUYS JUST MAKE MY DAY!

Kat: Thanks! :D haha, yeah, I'm, still thinking about ow she's gonna travel across middle earth with a baby bump, so hmmm…. Maybe she could go with Gandalf and Pippin??? (hint hint ;) ) hehehe, I love Boromir! 3 thanks for reviewing!

Speaking of which… review please!!!!! :D

review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review review Review review review review


	13. REVENGE! not so much

OMG! I AM SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME SOOOOO LONG TO UPDATE! THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR IT! I WILL TRY TRY TRY TO BE UPDATING QUICKER, I PROMISE YOU THAT! THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH AND SEEING YOUR REVIEW JUST LIGHTS UP MY WORLD!

Cookies for Kat cuz she knew that the songs were from Phantom!! :D lolz

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Chapter 11

Today was our last day in Lórien. My old attire (aka the pajamas in which I had woken up before the Crebain attacked) was basically torn to shreds from battle and travelling over various terrains. Gwen had found some really cool and comfortable elfish cloths which consisted of a beige shirt like the hobbits wore, and leggings which stopped at mid-calf and tucked into a pair of elvish boots. I thought the elvish boots were the bee's knees! They were so comfortable, and felt like I could just keep walking for miles in them, and my feet would never hurt. WHOOHOO! GO ELVES! I got a green cloak like the rest of the Fellowship, and I had to hold back a fangirly squeal of joy; I got to wear one of the famous green Elven cloaks! Omigosh! So cool! (sorry, that was a bit of a fangirly Mary-sue moment there… sorry.)

Now that it was coming close to leaving Lórien, I felt very sad. I had had a wonderful time here, and had made a very good friend. Gwen helped me pack my things (which wasn't very much) and walked me to the same platform we were at when Galadriel had mind tortured me.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," I told Gwen. "You were really a great friend!"

"You were too," she said smiling sadly. "I wouldn't have ever had the courage to let alone talk to Legolas if you hadn't been here." I smiled a little. "That reminds me, why were you showing signs the day before?" she asked. I frowned, oh yeah; I had forgotten to tell her hadn't I?

"It's too long of an explanation to tell you right now," I sighed. "If you go ask Galadriel, I'm sure she would tell you." Gwen shrugged as we finally made it to the platform. Speaking of the scary elf lady, there she is. She and Lord Celeborn were waiting for the Fellowship on the platform, and I wondered how this was going to go. Will she give the Fellowship gifts now like in the movie, or later like in the book? I was going to guess like in the movie, because everything else we had been through had been like in the movie. Including the fact that Boromir had light sandy blonde hair, where as in the book he was supposed to have dark black hair. I was right.

Galadriel moved among us, down the line, handing each of the Fellowship a gift and a word of wisdom. To Aragorn she gave a sheath for his sword, to Boromir, Merry, and Pippin she gave belts of silver or gold, while Legolas received a longer, stouter bow. Sam got dirt from Galadriel's orchard that, sprinkled anywhere, will cause the earth to burst into bloom. However, like in the book, Gimli requested a hair from Galadriel's golden head. I smirked at Gimli, as Galadriel gave him three. Someone has a crush on a certain scary elf lady, that's for sure! Galadriel then turned to me, and I felt a sudden thrill. I was not expecting to receive a gift, for I was not an original member of the Fellowship, but she stopped in front of me, and I looked nervously up at her.

"I know what it is you hope to achieve," she said to me, and I hoped that she wouldn't say anything embarrassing about my pregnancy or anything. But something about the tone of her voice told me she was talking about something graver than being pregnant. Then it came to me: saving Boromir's life. Galadriel looked me in the eyes and spoke again.

"The future is not set in stone. Make what fate you destine for yourself. But know this: a miracle is always possible even when all hope seems lost; even if you must venture to distant lands to find it," she spoke in her slow melodic voice. "I give you this." She held out a brilliant ruby red stone, cut jagged but smooth, like it had been found not a day ago. It caught the sun's light and glimmered, and for one bewildering second it looked like there was liquid inside it. I peered closer at it. Yes, there was definitely _something_ in there. It looked so familiar… I gently took it from her hand. I held it up to eye level to examine.

"What is it?" I asked looking up at her, knowing that this was not some mere gem.

"You will know when the time comes to pass," she said mysteriously. I frowned. What was is!? It was just a rock then, was it? Hmmm… I'd have to think about it. I looked back up at her and smiled, thankful that I had even gotten a gift at all.

"Thank you very much," I said, stowing the stone in my pocket. I'll figure out what it was later; right now there were more pressing things at hand: like how to keep Boromir from getting killed and when to tell him I was pregnant. Galadriel nodded at me and passed by me to Frodo whom she started to converse with about the light of Eärendil.

I glanced around, not really engaging in what was going on around me. And then I saw a flash of white golden hair in the sunlight, darting from one tree to the other. I strained my eyes to see what it was, and I saw an extremely annoying haughty elf: Haldir. I rolled my eyes and was about to look away when Haldir gestured at me. I raised my eyebrows and continued watching him, for he had gotten my attention. I questioned him with my gaze and he started acting out something behind everyone's back. I'm almost positive that no one else was watching him; they were too immersed in their own gifts to pay attention to what was going on elsewhere.

Haldir started miming something to me. I tilted my head to the side in confusion. He smirked at me and put a hand to his ear, mimicking hearing someone or something. And then he acted out something that made my blood freeze in my veins. He turned to the left, so I had a side view of him and mimed a baby bump on his stomach. My eyes widened in fear. He couldn't mean what I thought he meant, could he? He saw my horrified expression and nodded eagerly to confirm my worst fear. Haldir, the slimy git who I had insulted the other day out of PSM-ing, knew that I was pregnant, and I could bet my left ovary that he was going to use his knowledge to get revenge on me. I stared at him in horror; why did I have to piss of a haughty elf!? Why!? And then he mimed something more, something that nearly made me want to throw up.

He mimed talking and then pointed clearly at Boromir. My eye twitched; was he really threatening to tell Boromir? I started hyperventilating. How the hell did he find out that I was pregnant? More importantly, how did he know that I hadn't told Boromir yet?! I didn't even notice that Galadriel had finished speaking to Frodo and that everyone was going down the boat descending the stairs of doom. I blinked and cleared my head. I started heading over toward Haldir.

"Artemis?" came a voice. "Where are you going? The boats are this way." I turned and saw Boromir looking at me, his face full of concern. I forced myself to smile reassuringly.

"I'll only be a minute," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't freaking out. "You head down to the boats." He looked like he wanted to protest (probably knowing my extreme fear of heights), but I didn't give him time to protest, and I turned on my heel and hurried toward not where Haldir was hidden, but to Galadriel.

"Galadriel," I asked in a hushed tone. She turned and looked at me, curiosity etched on her face.

"Yes, child?"

"I was wondering, did you happen to tell anyone else about me being pregnant?" I whispered. She shook her magnificent head.

"No," she said. "I'm afraid not. Why are you asking?"

"No reason," I said, on the verge of sounding slightly hysterical. Before she could say anything else, I marched off toward Haldir's hiding place. I reached the bush and a hand shot out and pulled me into it. Haldir was smirking at me and I glared daggers at him.

"How the _hell_ did you find out?" I whispered furiously at him. His grin just widened even larger.

"That's for me to know, and you never to find out," he smirked and I resisted the urge to punch him in the nose: his big, fat, overlarge nose…

"What do you want?" I asked him. "I know I was mean to you and all, but you were the big bully first! Please don't tell Boromir… I'm begging you; let me tell him when I want to. This is none of your business in the first place."

"Oh but it is my business," he sneered. "Not only did you publicly embarrass me, but you ruined any chance I had to wed the one I love."

"One you love?" I asked. "Wait… who the heck are you talking about?"

"Gwendelín!" he snarled at me. "You ruined everything!"

"You're in love with Gwen?" I asked incredulously. "Sorry, I didn't know! Besides, she's had a crush on Legolas since the day she met him. All I did was give them each a little push forward… didn't mean to ruin your 'plan,'" I told him, still refraining from laughing at the fact Haldir's cold heart could even love.

"Well you did! And now dear Gwendelín's heart has been lost to that selfish Elven prince!" he growled at me.

"Hey, as much as I hate Leggy, I still like him better than you. I'm sorry, but he's a better match for Gwen. Not. You."

"It's still your fault!" he sneered at me.

"Well what do you expect me to do about it now!?" I asked. He smiled evilly.

"You must tell her that Legolas is cheating on her," he answered.

"No," I snarled. "You can threaten me all you want to, but I will not tell Gwen something that is false and would break her heart!" I didn't even wait for him to reply. I stormed out of the bushes and marched straight back to Galadriel.

"Galadriel?" I asked. She turned and nodded at me. "Um, well, I was thinking could we edit that vow you and I made? Instead of killing Legolas, can I kill Haldir?"

"I have Elven hearing you know," she chuckled softly at me. "I heard every word you and him said. But with all due respect, I think I have a less violent solution."

"What could possibly be better than killing Haldir?" I asked. She smiled and shook her head at me.

"Haldir!" she called to the bushes where we had been hidden. I saw Haldir rise out of the bushes, his cheeks red with embarrassment; obviously, the blackmail had not worked the way he had hoped it would.

"Yes, Lady Galadriel," he said stepping forward with a bow.

"Were you trying to blackmail Artemis?" she asked evenly. Haldir flushed scarlet.

"Yes, milady," he said shamefully.

"You will not meddle in other people's affairs ever again," said Galadriel in a low voice. "You are not beholding qualities of a marchwarden of Lórien. You will not act out again. Understood?"

"Yes milady," he replied, his face still the color of a cherry tomato. Galadriel nodded to him and he was dismissed. He hurried away, leaving an unmistakable trail of embarrassment behind him. I chuckled evilly.

"That was fun, but it would've been more fun to kill him," I said.

"Artemis, violence is never the answer," Galadriel sighed.

"But it's fun," I countered.

"Artemis, you must go down to the boats now. The Fellowship will be leaving shortly," she shook her head at me. "Come." She placed a hand on my back and led me to the stairs. My eyes widened in fear as I remembered how scary it was going up them. Galadriel urged me forward and I gritted my teeth and took my first step. _Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down... _I kept telling myself. I just looked at the sky and tried not to think about how far a drop it was because the stupid steps didn't have any stupid handrails.

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I certainly hope that I'm gonna update the next one sooner! I'm so sorry for the wait! Review please people! It encourages me to write faster :D


	14. Damned SheElf!

OH MY GOD. I AM SO FREAKING SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE!!!!!!!!! this is a long chapter, but that's no excuse AT ALL. i had extremely awful writers block, and i was really busy obsessing over 24 and Jack fucking Bauer. bc he's fucking awesome. yeah. what now. BUT I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY THAT I TOOK SUCH A LONG TIME TO UPDATE! THERE IS NO EXCUSE AND I DESERVE TO DIE A HORRIBLE PAINFUL DEATH!!! IM SO SORRY! but on a more happy note, here's a new chapter of How to Save a Life! :D enjoy!

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The next couple of days were spent canoeing down that really long river that I just can't remember the name of at the moment. Either fortunately or unfortunately for me, Boromir and I were in different boats, so I didn't have a chance to talk to him at all. Time was running out until the day in Amon Hen. I frowned as Legolas paddled behind me. The Fellowship had unanimously agreed not to let me paddle the boat. They felt that it wasn't smart to give a PMS-ing woman a long stick with a flat surface good for whapping people on the end. I personally didn't see a problem with having an oar; I could help move the boat and hit Legolas with the paddle at the same time.

Galadriel had slipped an ample amount of medicine into my bag for the morning sickness, and I had managed to pass off drinking it each morning simply as taking a swig of water. Thank goodness we were in separate boats; I don't know what would've happened if the hobbits had gotten a hold of some of the medicine. I had a feeling that Merry and Pippin would've gone so far as to drink it, and heaven knows what would've happened to them then.

I found myself lost in thought as we traveled for days down the river. I knew we would reach the Argonath eventually, and I was dreading every second till we got there. I needed to speak to Boromir before we got to Amon Hen; I could feel the baby growing in my womb already. I subconsciously kept checking my stomach, trying to tell if anyone could see a baby bump. I kept berating myself to stop; it would look awfully suspicious if anyone were to notice my consciousness of my stomach. I needed to tell Boromir, bottom line. I needed to tell him before it was too late.

I kept desperately thinking over my strategy. And then I realized, I had none. I had no plan for how I was going to stop Boromir from dying. The only fiber of a plan I had in my head was to take the arrows meant for him. But I really didn't want to die, especially since I would be killing not only myself, but my child as well.

I also found myself wondering what my child was going to be. Was it going to be a boy or a girl? What would I name it? Should I name it something Middle Earth-y or something normal from my world? Then again, my name isn't the most normal of names. Artemis. I don't know if I was already named that when I was adopted or if my 'muggle' parents, so to speak, named me that. Of which world was I really of?

I don't know who I am anymore. Everything had been happening so fast that I had had no time to think over what was happening. Everything I've ever known from my other life was a lie. I wasn't even human. I felt a pang in my heart as I thought of my parents. I missed them very much. But I had been preparing to graduate back there, so I had been toying with the idea of living out of my parents' house for a while. And then this happened, and I was as far away from home as I ever could be. I missed my friends that I had at school. One of my best friends, Marisa, I missed very dearly. Gwen had reminded me so much of her, especially the fact that they both wanted to become doctors and such. I wondered if Gwen was like Marisa's replacement in this new world I lived in. Like Gwen and I had actually been friends all along because she was actually Marisa? I missed all the things I had taken for granted in my old universe. Like cell phones, computers, DVD players, and basically all other forms of technology. Traveling in a canoe was also starting to have its affect on me. I found myself wishing for a motor for the boats to make this journey go faster. But then I was also wishing for time to slow down, to stall until that fateful day in Amon Hen…

I wondered if this was like Narnia. If I ever went back, how much time would have passed? I don't even know how long I've been gone; it must have been over a month. I grimaced. I had known Boromir for real for only a month, and I had slept with him. I felt guilty, guilty for altering a story that had already been written. I was such a Mary Sue. I absolutely hated Mary Sues, and yet here I am, falling for a man that I've only known in the flesh for a month. But I've known him longer than that. I've read the books god knows how many times, and watched the movies obsessively. I guess I'm not completely a Mary Sue though. I mean, I'm not perfect. I'm not drop dead gorgeous at all, which is the reason I disdain Legolas so much. Too pretty for a boy… gr…. But I'm sirius, I'm not the prettiest thing to look at in the slightest. I may be thin, but I barely have any chest at all, a thing that all Mary Sues have in common. My hair's just a plain brown and is dull, and I have way too many freckles for my liking. I'm nothing special to look at. How I got a man as wonderful as Boromir, I'll never know. I just know that I have him, and I won't let him go. Even if I have to fight the Grim Reaper tooth and nail, I won't let him go quiet into that dark night. I won't give him up without a fight. I'm afraid to lose him. Being with his child changes everything. I can't raise a child on my own, and I don't know what I'll do if he leaves, whether by death or his choice. I can't imagine that he would leave me though; I mean, even if he has a revelation that he's not actually in love with me and that it was all a dream, I don't think he would just let me raise _his_ child on my own. But that won't happen…. He loves me; he said he did more times than I can count.

How was I going to save him? I had to come up with something better than sticking myself in between him and the arrows. Maybe if I got Aragorn to get down to the clearing faster, then he could behead Lurtz (the orc who kills my fiancé), and no one would be the wiser. Or I could stop Boromir from attacking Frodo, giving him much more time to get farther away from Amon Hen and the fight, so Merry and Pippin wouldn't have to distract the orcs. Then Merry and Pippin wouldn't get captured by the orcs and we wouldn't go to Rohan or meet Treebeard who would then overtake Isengard. I was running out of ideas. I didn't know what to do or who to turn to. I couldn't turn to anyone; the only person who knew of my plan or of Boromir's future was now back in Lórien, and I was here on a river in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful.

"The _Argonath_," a voice jarred me out of my thoughts. I blinked and looked up. We had indeed reached the Argonath as Aragorn had just pointed out. I grinned a little; the giant statues reminded me of the Statue of Liberty. "Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin…" I smiled and looked over to Boromir's boat. He was grinning and looking up at the statues in awe. He was happy; I knew he had also desired to see this as much as Aragorn had. In many ways, it was like Americans wanting to see the Statue of Liberty. It represented how much our ancestors were a part of modern times; how we would be nowhere without them. In America, it represented freedom. In Middle Earth, it represented prosperous times of peace, times when such magnificent sculptures could be built.

I looked ahead. We were now very close to Amon Hen; I could see the waterfall which Boromir was sent over to his grave…. I shuddered at the memory. We would be getting out of the boats within the next half hour. We turned the corner of the river bend; I could see the shore now. My bottom was sore from being trapped in this canoe for a week; I was welcoming a chance to stretch my legs on land again. I was dreading what reaching land would mean. I hadn't even worked out a good plan to keep Boromir safe. I kept thinking I would have plenty of time to plan, but everything was now happening so fast. Before I knew it, the canoe was bumping into the sandy shore and everyone was hopping out of their boats, happy to be on land again. I blinked. LAND. I jumped out of the boat, crawling on all fours onto the sand. I flopped on my back, a goofy grin on my face. I never knew how much I would miss the feel of dirt under my feet.

"C'mon Ar," Merry said grabbing one of my hands and trying to tug me to my feet.

"Aren't you hungry?" asked Pippin grabbing my other hand as the two hobbits struggled to pull me upright. "I'm starved!" I grinned and allowed them to pull me to my feet. I stood up, stretching my arms and lumbering after the two hobbits. I halfheartedly retrieved a lump of bread from the food sack, not very hungry. I should be hungry; in fact, I should be starving, but I wasn't. My stomach rumbled, but I felt a little sick, and it wasn't from the baby.

I had to tell Boromir. Now.

I looked around, my eyes scanning the area for my fiancé. He was nowhere to be found. My eyes widened in horror. It had already begun. I looked around desperately for Frodo, but he was missing as well. I stood up hastily.

"Where're you goin lassie?" asked Gimli. I gulped and shrugged, trying to act normal.

"Just for a walk, need to stretch my legs," I said. "I might grab some firewood while I'm at it too." He shrugged and let me wander off. As soon as the campfire was out of sight I broke into a run. I pulled out my dagger as a precaution; I didn't know when the orcs would turn up. I still think it's weird that the Fellowship let me carry a dagger, but didn't let me help row. I started darting through the forest, my eyes scanning the fall-colored wood for any sign of Boromir or Frodo. I was panicking; I wasn't going to find him in time. I should've come up with a plan; I should've been paying attention to where Boromir went, now of all times I should have been watching him. And then I heard it.

"YOU FOOL!" his voice rang through the wood. "It is not yours save by unhappy chance...it might have been mine. It should be mine. Give it to me! Give me the Ring!" My eyes widened and I gasped. I turned and ran with all my might in the direction of Boromir's voice.

"Boromir!" I cried, desperate to find him, make him stop, save him… "BOROMIR!" I ran through the wood, so fast that the trees were nothing but a blur of orange, gold, and green. I darted into the clearing just in time to see Boromir leap forward and tackle Frodo. I rushed forward and grabbed the back of his robes, trying to tug him off Frodo.

And then, Frodo disappeared. Boromir stopped struggling and froze, and Frodo's kick and my tugging caused Boromir to topple over on top of me. I pushed him off of me. He didn't seem to realize that I was there. He scrambled to his feet, leaves caught on his clothes and hair.

"I see your mind..." he ranted delusionary. "You will take the Ring to Sauron. You will betray us! You go to your death and the death of us all!" He scrambled forward. I grabbed the back of his cloak trying to stop him.

"Boromir!" I yelled at him. "GET A GRIP! Let him be!" But he kept struggling.

"Curse you!" he yelled. "Curse you and all the Halflings!" And then he slipped on the hill of leaves and fell onto his face, taking me down with him. I struggled to get him off of me; it hurt my heart to see what the Ring had done to him. It reduced a fully grown man to a weeping wreck upon the forest floor.

"Boromir," I said softly. He shuddered. He raised his head and looked at me. My heart broke at the sight of his face. It was laced with such remorse and guilt that the breath caught in my chest and I couldn't move.

"What have I done?" he whispered softly, his voice full of pain. He looked toward the sky. "Frodo! Frodo, I'm sorry!" he cried, sobs wracking his body. I softly put my hand on his cheek.

"Boromir, look at me," I said softly. "This was not your fault. You are as any man, tempted by the Ring. Do you see what it has done? Now you know why no man can wield it."

"I see now," he shuddered. "But it was too late to stop my treachery. I failed my mission; I broke my oath." I got up and pulled Boromir to his feet.

"I know not what to say to you, except that this was the way that it was written," I said. "And even I could not stop it."

"You say that there is no fate but what we make for ourselves," he reminded me. I frowned.

"And there is," I said firmly. "We simply didn't do enough to change this, but now the time has passed. It matters not to me what you have done, but what you choose to do. That is why there is no fate but what we make. We can dwell on the past or we can look to the future. That is the choice to make. It only matters what you do from here on."

"I'm so sorry Artemis," he whispered looking at the ground. I lifted his face to look at mine.

"You have nothing to be sorry for to me, dear," I told him with a sad smile.

"My heart is blacker than you know," he shuddered. "How could you love someone like me? After what I just did…"

"Look at me," I told him firmly. "I knew your heart before you even knew who I was. I have seen your heart, and I know its blackness. But shan't I say the very same thing to you? I have not shown you my deepest secrets yet, but make no mistake: I will. And then I will wonder the same thing you are wondering now. How could someone as wonderful as you love someone as awful as me? And you know what, Boromir? I don't give a damn how black your heart is. That's why I'm here, darling. To love you even when you think that there's nothing left in you to love." He looked at me sorrowfully.

"How could anyone forgive what I've done?" he asked mournfully. "I've broken the very oath I made to protect Frodo; I have no honor left."

"Boromir," I said gently. "Frodo knows that it was not you who attacked him. He's said it to you himself. You were not yourself. Your heart was black for naught even a minute. The question is now, love, can you forgive yourself? Forgive yourself and from this point on try your damned hardest to fight for goodness and honor?"

"I can't," he said lowly. "I can't. Not now."

"You must," I told him. "For the sake of your people, you must. Isn't that what you wanted all along? You want to defend your people, right? Then fight for what is right, and make away with the past! Do it for Gondor." He looked at me again, and I searched his eyes for some sign, a sign of anything, whether forgiveness or not. He nodded slowly and hung his head. I smiled sadly. Then the blood froze in my veins.

"_FIND THE HALFLINGS!!! ARGH! FIND THE HALFLINGS!!!_"

My eyes widened in fear. They were here; the uruk-hai had arrived. Time was running out. I had to tell Boromir about the baby now.

"Boromir," I said desperately as he drew his sword. "Boromir I have to tell you something."

"Can it wait?" he asked. "If you haven't noticed there's uruk-hai attacking the camp right now?"

"No it can't!" I cried desperately while drawing my own dagger.

"It'll have to," he said as half a dozen uruk-hai spilled over the top of the hill. He ran at them giving a battle cry.

"NO!" I yelled at him. "It'll be too late!" But he couldn't hear me now; he was busy fighting for his life. I watching in horror and awe as he singlehandedly killed every single orc that crossed his path. Bloody stinking bodies littered the ground around him.

"COME ON ARTEMIS!"he bellowed. "WE HAVE TO GET TO THE OTHERS!" I gulped and nodded, feeling completely useless. He started running over the hill and I followed in suit. The orcs we had encountered must have been a scouting party because we met no others while we ran through the woods. We skidded to a halt on the top of a great sloping leaf wreathed hill and I looked down at the scene below us. We had reached that scene. Merry and Pippin were frantically scuttling across the stone bridge as many uruk-hai rushed at them madly swinging their weapons.

"No…"Boromir breathed from beside me. And before I could say a word he had pelted down the slope, running full speed toward the uruk-hai. I was frozen. I couldn't do anything as he engaged the nasty beasts in battle. I watched uselessly from on top of the hill before I finally came to my senses. I pulled out my dagger and ran down the hill. Suddenly, that same force that had controlled my body when I had sparred with Boromir all those weeks ago, made me grasp my dagger and fling myself into the middle of the battle. It was like an out of body experience all over again. I saw myself fighting and whapping off orc heads, but I wasn't actually doing anything. It was like watching a movie, I suppose, except the fear of getting gored was much more real.

_WOOOOOOOOORP! WOOOOOOOOORP!_

The jarring sound of the Horn of Gondor startled me, and for a moment I was back in my body, actually controlling my movements. And a moment was all the uruk-hai needed. I gasped in pain as one of their swords sliced through my arm, cutting a rather deep wound. I cried out in pain, but before I could even clutch at my bloodied arm, the force took over me again and I walloped that orc's head right off its disgusting body. Another uruk-hai attacked me and I fought it with all my might. By the time I had beheaded the beast, it was too late. I watched in horror as Lurtz appeared over the edge of the hill and drew out his bow, notching an arrow and aiming toward Boromir.

"Boromir!" I cried. "NO!"

Yet even as I ran toward the man I loved, the man whose child I was carrying, an arrow sprouted from his shoulder. He stumbled back in shock and pain, gasping for air. I cried out; he was not going to die. I would not let him. Lurtz prepared to fire another arrow, and then it came to me. With the rage of my ancestors to guide me, I drew out my gun from my bag. This is why it had come with me when I fell into Middle Earth; this is why I was here. My hand gripped around the holster of my gun and I took aim, pointing it at Lurtz's great ugly head. He notched another arrow.

"Oh no you don't," I growled, and I pulled the trigger. A deafening crack rang throughout the forest, and the uruk-hai fell to the ground dead, a bullet hole spouting blood right between his eyes. The other uruk-hai warriors looked at me in shock. I pointed the gun at them and let all hell break loose. The filthy beasts dropped like flies, but they kept coming. I would be out of ammo soon; I had to get to Boromir. My eyes widened as I saw Merry and Pippin being carried off by the stinking uruk-hai. I couldn't save them; I had to let them go for the story to continue; they must meet Treebeard or things would go devastatingly wrong.

I turned to see Boromir staggering toward me, an arrow in his chest, right where his heart was. I watched in horror as he fell to the ground.

"No…" I breathed. He couldn't die. It was only one arrow… straight through his heart. I rushed to his side.

"Boromir," I cried holding his head in my lap.

"Artemis?" he asked weakly. I nodded tears streaming down my face.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. I vaguely noticed Aragorn appear and kneel beside me. "I tried so hard, but I just couldn't save you…"

"No Artemis," he smiled sadly at me, then grimaced in pain. "You have noth- nothing to be sorry for. It is I- I am the one who should be asking for forgiveness…"

"No, you fought bravely," I shuddered. "Y-you regained your honor." Tears streamed down my face, and I was powerless to stop them. I can't believe that after all this, he was here, dying in my arms. Aragorn made to try to remove the arrows, but Boromir stopped him.

"Leave it. It is over. The White City will fall, and my people to ruin…"

"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail," whispered Aragorn.

"Our people," he shuddered disbelievingly. "Our people…"A hint of a smile crossed his lips.

"I would've followed you, my brother. My Captain. My King."

"No!" I cried. "Don't leave me alone…"

"I'm so sorry, Ar," he breathed. "I love you so much…"

"No! You can't die!" I cried holding his face. "You know why? You're gonna be a daddy, Boromir… a father." His eyes widened and the little color that was left in his face seemed to glow a bit brighter. A single tear leaked from his eyes.

"A father?" he asked, gasping for breath that he could no longer breathe. I nodded. His face was filled with such joy; it broke my heart. Then his face clouded and became dark and sorrowful.

"I am so sorry," he whispered to me. "I can't believe that I'm leaving you here, that I'll never see him grow up… you know that I love you so much Artemis."

"I love you too…" I whispered quietly into his chest.

"Sahrimir," he whispered.

"What?"

"If it's a boy, name him Sahrimir," he said. "Tell him that I love him, that I love both of you… tell him I'm sorry I won't be there for him…"

"But you will be," I said. "You will."

"No Artemis, it is over…" he shuddered again.

"No," I said firmly. "You will be there. You _will_." I reached down and grasped the arrow. "Sorry about this," I said before wrenching the arrow out of his chest. He gave a cry of pain. I winced regretfully. "It is not over yet."

I felt something heavy drop into my pocket. It felt like a hard jagged stone. I gasped. I reached in my pocket and hastily pulled out the hollowed, elixir filled ruby that Galadriel had given me. It couldn't be… My eyes widened as I held it up to the light. It glittered much too happily for this heartbreaking occasion. The liquid inside gleamed, and then I suddenly understood. I turned the stone over in my fingers, searching for a stopper. And there it was: a little ruby-like wax sealed stopper in the stone. _You will know when the time comes to pass…_This really couldn't be… _the Sorcerer's Stone_?

Oh. My. God.

It was _the_ Sorcerer's Stone! I didn't even have time to think. Without waiting to debate whether it was real or not, I wrenched out the stopper, pulled Boromir's head forward, and dripped two droplets of the elixir into his mouth. I waited anxiously for a sign, a sign that something happened, anything at all. And then, Boromir shuddered. He gasped and his eye lids flew open. I looked to his chest. The wound above his heart was knitting itself back together; I could see the flesh literally reconnecting, and soon there was no wound at all, just a blood rimmed tear in Boromir's shirt. A wild grin spread across my face as Boromir pulled himself up to prop on his elbows. Before he could say a word, I tackled him in a hug.

"It worked!" I cried happily. "You're okay!" He wrapped his arms around me returning the gesture while chuckling at my giddiness. I pulled back to his Aragorn looking at me dumbfounded.

"What did you do?" he asked in a hushed voice. "What magic is this?" I grinned and held up the ruby stone for everyone to see.

"_This_, my friends, is the Sorcerer's Stone," I grinned. Gimli and Legolas had joined us and they all stared at me like I was off my rocker. I got that look a lot here.

"What is it?" Boromir asked, obviously curious to see what had brought him back from the brink of death.

"It is the most wonderful invention that ever sprung from the mind of JK Rowling," I smiled happily. "It was made by Nicholas Flamel."

"How did you get it?" Legolas asked. I frowned. I got the stone from Galadriel, but this was Middle Earth… so how did she get it? My eyes widened and I gasped.

"That damned she-elf DID TOO know what an Unbreakable Vow was!!!"

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heheh... might turn this into a crossover... whataya think? :D READ AND REVIEW DARLINGKS!!!!


	15. Announcement 3

Heyy guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated recently, but I have big news! I'm making a sequel to _How to Save a Life_, called _Diary of a Pregnant Mary-Sue on Middle Earth._ I'm only done with the first chapter, but I've plotted out the rest of the story, so hopefully it won't take too long between each update. I had decided to take a break after finishing HtSaL, but now I'm kicking it back on track! :D Go to my profile to find the link to the new story. Read and Review my darlingks!


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